An act of kindness
by The Swordslinger
Summary: Challenge by RevampedAtol. Sometimes, a simple action out of good will means an undying loyal ally. Naruto Uzumaki is someone who hadn't had much kindness shown to him, so Serah Farron helping him in a time of need is more than enough for him to take on the entire world for her sake. Though he also has to deal with a goddess he sealed in himself. Warning: Harem, and Strong Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING

I swear I am not the brightest guy, but even I can tell Final Fantasy XIII needed some editing, mostly concerning Snow proclaiming to be a hero even after he got Hope's mom killed.

**XXXXXX**

Feels like fantasy

"Ugh... I need to stop waking up like this..."

Grumbling to himself, one Naruto Uzumaki, clad in the remains of his shredded clothes, groaned. He was supposed to be a seventeen years old kid, but then again, being born isn't normal, and even less when you get put and set into a fight against a god. He quickly raised himself from where he was, an alley, and used the wall to lean one side of his beaten body and keep himself straight up. A grunt escaped him when his shoulder cried the instant he brushed the wall.

"Ok... can do this..." he said as he looked down at his arm, which was hanging from his dislocated shoulder. With a sigh, gritted teeth, and a determined stare to the pained joint, the kid grabbed it.

Not far away, two little sisters walked around, one of them crying into her elder sister's shoulder. They were tired and needed to get to their home and start cooking. The sound of a loud groan that was muffled enough to not become a scream startled the youngest and made the eldest turn to the source of the noise. They stood there, watching as a figure came out of the alley from the shop they got their food for tonight. The one who came out noted how identical they were, only difference being that the tallest, who had to be two years younger than him, had her hair flowing to her back, and the youngest had hers on a side ponytail.

He also chuckled at a strange fact: "Heh, pink hair..." and just like that, after dragging his body through the wall a bit more, his legs and consciousness finally gave in, and he fell before them.

"I-Is he all right, sis?" the youngest asked, about to reach him when her sister pulled her behind her back for protection.

"Don't go near him, Serah! He could be trying to-" and her words died in her throat when the two of them noticed the young blond man was bleeding, heavily. As he laid face down, it didn't take long for a puddle of blood to reach one of his whiskered cheeks and tickle his eyelids as if it were trying to get into the deep cerulean eyes they had seen staring at them along a humored smile.

"Claire, we got to help him!" Serah told her older sister who just shook her head.

"Don't call me that, and you know he could be dangerous! He could be in some gang and fighting dangerous people, or worse! You know what happens to people when they're hunted by PSICOM... If he's one of the enemies of Cocoon, then I'm not letting him get you in danger!" The elder said with a commanding voice.

But her sister's eyes stared at her with something she didn't want to see in them: fear. "Claire, please... he's hurt. What if he also had family like we had mom and dad?"

The elder growled, and turned away from her sister's sky blue eyes, "Damn it, Serah! We got no money to help this guy and he'll probably die before anyone arrives. What're we supposed to do? We barely make enough money to keep our house and eat, so why should we-"

"Even if he were a bad person, should we really let him suffer?" the little girl asked, tears threatening to come out of her face.

The elder bared her teeth as she moved her face skywards, trying hard not to look at anyone or anything as she closed her eyes, and muttered the words she thought would regret: "Fine." She hung her head low and walked to the older and taller teenager, grabbing a white jacket she had as she turned over the blond and looked for the injury, "Serah, I need you to give me a hand, we'll also have to..." and her words died when she noted something. The blond wore an opened orange jacket, and it had a massive gash like someone had tried to rip open his ribcage with a chainsaw, but he only had a slight cut in his abdomen, "A-Are you just kidding me?! This wound's too small to create such a puddle!"

"Did someone attack him?" Serah asked as she moved closer to her sister.

Claire bared her teeth at the alley the blond came in... but it was empty, and barely big enough to park two cars, both in line. It only had a dumpster and a small trail of blood leading to the blond... but no doors, windows, or anything. While it did look like the older teen had been attacked, there was nothing to show them what had caused them.

That instantly made the elder sister push her younger sibling back, "He may be really dangerous, whoever attacked him-" and her words were cut short once again as the blond grunted.

"It... freaking... stings..." he groaned out as he rolled and tried to get up, a hand on his split stomach, hiding the wound as it closed up, "Ugh... so... dizzy... But need... clothes..." he said almost mechanically as he tried to regain consciousness even after passing out. He held his face in both hands, trying to keep his feet on the ground, "Kaguya... that... Ugh... What just... happened?" he finally asked as he moved his hands down and looked around, "Where am I?"

He noticed the girls again and smiled softly at them, letting his body sway to the nearest wall to lean to. But before he could speak, the youngest one, who looked about twelve, spoke up, "You ok, mister?"

He chuckled, "I'm not that old... and I think I'm as fine as I can be, little lady..." He groaned as he rested his whole back on the wall, looking at the sky, "Heh... If I were legal I guess I'd be smoking or drinking now... Old man Azuma did both, if it really helps him take out some of his sorrows, I could use some."

The little girl pouted in a way he found adorable, "You shouldn't drink or smoke if you're young. My big sis and even my parents told me many times it's bad and that it'll hurt my lungs and liver."

Naruto warmed his smile some more, "You know where the liver is?"

The girl got nervous and tried to point with her hands where she thought such organ should be at, only to be stopped by her sister as she glared at the blond, "We'll leave you now since you seem to be all right... Take care." The last part was added rather hesitantly and reluctantly

Naruto just waved at the sisters, "Yeah, same to you... I'll just- Argh!" He groaned as he tried to walk away, but his knee gave in and hand him kneeling, about to fall down face-first on the ground... until little Serah stood by his side, holding him up with her tiny hands and arms.

"You need to rest." She said, trying not to blush at how his strong body felt in her tiny prepubescent hands, "Umm... you could join us for dinner."

Claire instantly disagreed, "Serah! You know we shouldn't let a stranger in at our home!"

Naruto chuckled weakly, "Your big sis is right, little girl... And don't worry... I'll be fine; I'm too stupid to die."

Claire gave the man a cold look, "I don't know what to agree with on that."

The blond smiled again, "You talk too coldly for someone a few years younger than me? What is it? Oh, and if you don't mind, I just need to..." here he slid down the wall, "...just a bit..." and then he finally sat on the ground with his knees bent and his hands on them, "Lay down..." He turned to the girl, expecting an answer.

Claire gave him a cold stare, "It's none of your business, and we have to go home now."

Naruto chuckled and waved, "Ok, be on your way... Just a tip." Here Claire gave him a raised brow, which he took as his cue to reply, "Whatever happened to you, trust me, you're not the only one. If you've lost someone or something dear to you, I know how that feels from countless times. But some people take it too seriously and that just slows them down... Want my personal tip for this situation? Try to be more of an idiot and enjoy what you have, your sister would be happier that way... Ice Princess."

Claire glared harder at the man, "My name's Lightning."

The blond didn't chuckle, he laughed, "Ahahahaha- ow!" he groaned as his ribs erupted in pain, so he chuckled, "Ahehehe... Well... Name suits you... Hell, I was named after a ramen ingredient, yours is at least cool."

As he let his head rest on the wall, Serah turned to her sister, who groaned as she knew what was in the little pinkette's mind behind those puppy dog tearful eyes.

XXXXXX

"Please, do not bleed on the carpet." Lightning said with a grumble as she helped up the stranger, one of his strong arms hooked around her shoulders while her other hand guided him on his thorax. Of course, that didn't mean she was really thinking of helping the blond, she had her sights set on the kitchen knife in case he decided to abuse their generosity.

He let out another laugh of his, "Hey, if anyone should be worrying about the blood, that's me… I feel like I got dragged through seven worlds before the one kicking my ass finally decided to throw me down here."

Lightning grumbled again, "Don't say ass, my sister is here, and she doesn't need to talk like you."

Naruto blinked, grabbed his face with one hand to use his middle and index finger to take off the sand from his eyes, and spoke, "Fine, I'll cut the swearing for the little lady's sake, all right?" His only answer was to be set on the couch, not even helped to sit down or anything, Lightning just let him go and he was free of falling on it. He did just that and soon used the couch as a bed, looking at the ceiling and the decorations of the house, noticing how they differed from his place at the Leaf. "You got a prettier place than mine."

That irked Lightning, "You got a home?!" she asked as she moved to the blond, "Then why aren't you there?"

He gave her a mirthless chuckle, "Well… Last time I saw my little apartment, it was blown up by some witch along most of what I knew of. I could go back to the ashes and use them as sheets." He wasn't really in the mood to sugarcoat anything, the girl made it clear she didn't want him, and when he had been fifteen he had been forced to fight an assassin with too much power while his mentor didn't teach him crap. Whatever the girl had, he could top it with crappiness.

The two locked eyes, but before anything else could be said, little Serah passed between the two, "I'll go get some water for you…" and just as she passed by, she finally noticed something, "What's your name?"

"Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki." The blond said with a shrug from what he had already claimed as his bed. He then gave her a smile, "What's yours, little lady?"

"Serah, Serah Farron."

He warmed his smile at her, "Cute name, little lady… and your sister's Lightning, huh? Guess your parents wanted to be normal with your name, Serah."

Said girl growled, "Aren't you named after a fishcake roll?"

He chuckled, "Yeah… now I'm going to roll and…" he did so, giving his back to the cold sister and mumbled, "Get some shut-eye. Leave the water… wherever…"

Serah nodded and moved to the kitchen, Lightning hot on her heels and watching which knife could work best if the blond wasn't really sleeping, "Serah, you have wanted a pet, but you know we can't afford one, and this Naruto, if that's his real name, can be dangerous. We don't have mom and dad to look after-"

"Then…" Serah started, pausing to see if her sister would keep talking or let her continue, she did the second, "Then why don't we let someone go around, hurt and without a place when we could have been in his place if it weren't for the fact we somehow have a home and money to live on our own?"

Claire sighed and looked away from her sister, leaning on a wall as she inspected the stray she brought home. Said stray, however, had a sharp sense of hearing and was good at playing dead, or sleep in this case. Serah returned to the living room and set down a glass of water for the blond on the coffee table before the couch. Her sister kept her eyes on the whiskered oversized pet they got while the younger girl went upstairs. Minutes later, Serah **was** down, clutching some clothes Lightning found familiar.

"Serah, what're you doing? Those are dad's clothes!"

The girl nodded, "And he's not using them or needs them." She said, showing her brave face to her sister. Lightning groaned as her sister set the clothes down besides the water.

XXXXXX

Later that night, one lone figure wasn't sleeping. Instead, there were many places in the districts to visit for a job. Whether they were normal or not didn't matter, what mattered was the money.

"Let's stablish the obvious… I'm not home, though I don't think home had anything like this." Naruto said in his new set of brown slacks, a white jacket, black shoes, and a black muscle shirt. He had even moved his hair backwards, giving himself a rather feral look with his spiky hairdo looking like a fox's mane. But he still kept his old ninja sandals, the only thing that had somehow survived his fight with a certain someone.

He heard voices in his mind as he inspected the towering building, flashing signs, and holographic images, "**Hate… Hate you…**"

Naruto chuckled and patted his stomach, '_Oh, did you sleep well?_' he asked with a crooked smile on his face.

The voices settled into one, "**You… little… punk!**" the voice growled, "**What did you… do to me… to yourself…? What's this…?**"

The blond stopped and looked at a bar, balancing his options as he replied, '_What do you think happens when you try to wipe out someone with enough power to create a new dimension… It may sound like some retarded plot thing from one of Ero-senin's books for scenes with weird alien babes, but you got us to a new dimension, Kaguya._'

The voice growled again, "**Why am I… so weak…?**"

He chuckled as he passed by the bar once looking inside and seeing it was far too dirty and falling apart, '_I couldn't have someone with near limitless chakra roaming around, even if in my stomach… so I used nearly everything I had… into sealing and suppressing your very powers._'

This time, there was shock, "**What?!**"

He snickered, coming almost as odd to the pedestrians, '_Except for the fact I have some former goddess of bitches sealed in me, I'm almost a normal human… The key word being "almost" in that sentence._' The blond clenched a hand into a fist, feeling wind chakra swirling around his blood, but nowhere near as much as he once had.

She was so furious, she shivered, "**You! What do you plan on doing with me?!**" her voice was clearer, but whether it was because she was screaming from fury or getting settled down in her seal was anyone's guess, "**I'm not your prisoner, punk! I won't allow someone like you to… to… to defile me!**" she cried and Naruto had to stop dead in his tracks. He was cringing, "**You think I'll let you chain me up, dress me in some degrading leotard, and straddle me to push in your-**"

He groaned, holding the side of his head, '_Ok… perhaps you should've been Icha-Icha's writer with that kind of imagination. And, for the record, you've done enough cruel things to seem the least bit appealing to me, you old hag._'

The goddess grew instantly furious, "**How dare you?! Even after being a mother, I was still beautiful! I kept my breasts pert and firm, my backside may have grown from birth but I made sure it kept its well-rounded form, and I-**"

He cut her off, '_I think I preferred you when you were this bland big baddy who didn't explain her reasons and wanted to kill me. By that time I had only one headache. But congratulations, you've moved up to migraine level._'

She growled, "**And I preferred to have my hands around your neck.**"

It was no mystery the two didn't like each other, but since they were stuck together Naruto knew he'd have to get used to the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Ootsutsuki, living in the seal where his friends used to be, '_Just so you know… I do hate you._' He said with all of his honesty, '_You and that blob calling itself your son made many lives, including mine, miserable. So I'll make sure you're locked for all eternity. So take that, I'm giving you a punishment worse than death: being locked with the person who beat you up._'

Kaguya cackled, "**Humans will always look for power, I just need to wait, and I'll be free soon to see how you can back those words.**"

Naruto said nothing; he just kept looking for a proper job. Said job just seemed to come right at him in a moment. From the corner of his eye, he could see bright lights, vibrant colors, and some thugs getting into a hostess club called the Honeybee Club. The place was obviously not for minors, it could've been themed as a hive with bees as the main attraction, but the bees had a nice set of assets to back up their waists and served a cold honey, if you catch my drift. The unemployed teen watched as a girl clad in a skin tight bee outfit consisting of a black and yellow striped leoard, with a yellow and black tail over her derriere with a stinger too, fretted as large men in suits entered the place. The men were obviously from some mafia, and it was insulting how they didn't try to hide it.

Normally, one would look away from such sight, but he wasn't normal, and he could hear glass breaking in the club. He made a quick dash to the entrance and entered the hive themed place where lovely girls in skimpy bee outfits stood away from the men in suits brandishing metal bats, chains, knives, and even a freaking sword. Meanwhile, a skinny man in a suit with glasses and a frail appearance, complete with short brown hair that gave him a dorky but not unappealing appearance, gulped as one of the men grabbed him by his tie and brandished a pair of brass knuckles.

The thug breathed into the man's, most likely the owner, face, "You know how business is like, pal… Your little bees collect good honey, and we want a taste of the goods."

The owner coughed, his glasses covered in the man's rancid breath, "N-No…" he managed to cough out, "Y-You're not going to use the girls fo- Oof!" and he got a brass knuckle to the gut.

The thug growled, "Listen, ya little punk! You may think you're some gentleman by not touching the merchandise, but if you got a business like this, then the big guys will need you to change it so it doesn't waste its potential… and potential is all that the boss is about."

"Excuse me…" Naruto said, tapping the thug on the shoulder with one finger, "Sorry, but could I talk with the man you're holding?"

The thug finally noticed Naruto, just as his fellow crooks, who gasped when he seemed to appear out of nowhere, "What do ya want, brat?! This ain't even a place for someone who has yet to grow his pubes!"

Naruto ignored the comment and spoke to the club's owner, "Hey, boss, you could use a bouncer… Tell you what, I beat these guys up, you think of giving me a good pay with enough money for me and two people."

Growing tired of the kid's words, the thug reared back his free hand to try to backhand Naruto… only to watch as the kid effortlessly swatted aside the arm, not only deflecting the strike, but bending the elbow until, with a sickening crack, the limb was dislocated. The thug cried in agony as he held his broken arm, letting his brass knuckles fall into the ground. Naruto looked at the odd weapons and, for the sake of seeing what made them so special, grabbed them and put them on.

As the boy fumbled with the brass knuckles, one of the other gangsters, brandishing a knife, tried to stab the kid from behind. Naruto swung his hand back, using his new weapon to stop and deflect the attack, moving his hand up to also lift the gangster's, and then slammed the other metallic punching weapon on the grunt's face. The hostesses watched in shock as the gangster's face was practically sucked in with the heavy imprint of the brass knuckles where his now flat nose was.

Naruto grinned as he lifted his hands and clenched them into fists, "What do you say, boss?" Naruto said as he took a lazy stance, "You willing to pay for a top class bouncer right about now?"

The owner, who had been flat on his ass on the floor, gaping at the kid before him, could only gulp and, while slowly nodding, reply with, "Y-Yeah but… are you even old enough to be here?"

Naruto knitted his brows as the thugs came at him, "Well, I could work for these guys then…" the gangsters stopped dead in their tracks, thinking about what the kid just said.

The owner sweated bullets, "Ok! I'll pay you triple what I would a normal bouncer!"

The blond grinned as he raised his fists, "Boss, you've made the investment of a lifetime!"

Five minutes later, anyone who looked at the hostess club would find the odd sight of a squad of gangsters flying out of the front door, with a teenage blond throwing them out like sacks of potatoes. The kid in question grinned as he dusted his hands, gave his new boss a thumb up with a smile, and let the gangsters run with their tails between their legs.

"I'm… at a loss of words…" the owner said as he tried to straighten his tie. A few hostesses ran by his side to help him dust his clothes and wipe any dirt the gangsters could've laid on him, but he simply waved at them to stand aside and not worry. He finally turned to Naruto, "I guess I do owe you one, kid."

Naruto chuckled, "Well, you do owe me a paycheck, boss." He said with a grin too innocent to be truthful.

The spectacled man sighed, "I… I will see what I can do about that… So, since I've… hired you, sort of, I will have to at least ask who you are."

The teen grinned, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki."

The owner sighed, "Ok, good. My name's Vault… I'm Honeybee Inn's owner, and, as you can guess, I'd normally have tried to take you out since this is a hostess club. But now, because those guys scared my former bouncers off, I really need someone like you." He then sighed, "But I just don't think you'd last much in this job."

The blond grinned, "Want to bet, boss?" he aimed a finger at Vault, "Tell you what, no matter what thugs come here, I can throw them out without breaking a sweat. If I do that, you'll have to…" here he paused, putting a hand to his chin to think on what to ask, his eyes drawn to the lamps shaped like honeycombs deep in thought, "Hmm… Well, I could use a new set of clothes."

Vault groaned at the kid's energy, "For your own good, you should try to quit and get out as soon as you can. I'll pay you for your help, but when those guys get back to their boss, more will come to try to kill you."

Naruto just grinned, those words sounded like a challenge, and he liked to do the impossible. He leaned on a wall, his arms crossed and his head turned to the door, "Then let them come, boss, and I'll kick them out one by one." He then turned to Vault and winked confidently, "You just handle my payment."

Vault felt a vein popping on his forehead, "Hey, kid, stop trying to be smooth, you'll be in-" and his words died in his throat as several men in suits with many more weapons arrived. "You'll be… in my best graces if you can take care of these guys!" the owner said as he and the hostesses stepped back with fear obviously on their faces.

Naruto adjusted his new - _borrowed _- brass knuckles. Kaguya for her part growled, "**You better not die easily, brat. I refuse to die because of some kid attempting to play hardboiled style.**"

Our hero simply extended a fist at the gangsters, "I honestly have nothing good to say, so let's make this look cool."

The hostesses, the owner, and the goddess sealed in the kid's gut had to sweat-drop at both his brutal honesty and delusions at trying to be cool. In another situation, it could've been endearing, but right now the gangsters who thought he wasn't taking them seriously charged at him. That was a really bad choice, for the gangsters, that is.

One of them raised a lead pipe to try to smack Naruto in the face, but the kid grinned, "It's a feint." He said loud enough for the gangster to listen to, just in time to sidestep what would have ended up as a strike to his ribs. Another gangster came in from behind, keeping his fists up, and Naruto spoke up, "This one's a kick." He said as he raised his leg, smashing his foot against the gangster's knee to not only stop the kick he predicted, but make the thug unable to move. Another came in with a knife, swinging it widely, "Slash!" Naruto said as he ducked the strike aiming for his neck, "Stab!" he said as he grabbed the stabbing wrist before the blade got to his heart, spun around the extended arm of the crook, and slammed his other hand's brass knuckles on the man's face, breaking the nose.

The gangsters took their distance, one of them speaking, "H-How?!"

Naruto grinned as he tapped his head with one index finger, aiming the other at the men, "To tell you the truth, I'm just practicing how good I am at reading my opponents… It's a secret you learn with sages." He then took a lazy stance, cracking his own knuckles by gripping his hands into tight fists, "But now all I want to do is to beat you up good, you and your damn peacock suit!" The men in the colorful suits went mand and charged… once again, a real bad idea.

Vault could only look on in shock as gangsters went flying out of his club, "I… I hired a monster."

XXXXXX

Next morning, Lightning grumbled.

Unlike many fifteen year old girls who could bother with proper dresses to wear, what to ask from someone for their fifteenth birthday, throw a big party for that big day, or even go shopping, she had a job. While many girls also had jobs, possibly family linked, the girl who threw away her original name had to do it to raise her sister and make sure both of them could live. Thus why she hadn't been thrilled to find her sister wanted a stranger in their parents' home, and even less that the teen could try to take advantage of them. It was a good thing she slept with her little sister and kept a bat beneath her bed.

As she stepped into her living room for a light breakfast, she also stumbled upon the sight she didn't want to see, "Still here…" Naruto had gone to with a smile on his face, and would keep doing so for as long as he could. "He could try to get a-" and before she could try to comment on the sleeping Naruto's position, and make a remark about how he was freeloading like some hobo relative, she saw a big stack of money on the table along a note that simply read: _Thanks for taking me in_. She grabbed the note, crumpled it, and shook her head, "Whoever you are… you're full of surprises, Naruto."

She then went to the kitchen; she had to make breakfast for three.

XXXXXX

(Six years later. Naruto, age 23. Lightning, age 21. Serah, age 18.)

"Huhuhu... So many good babes, who should I take for my evening?" One of Honneybee Club's girls shivered as a man pulled her to his lap and grabbed her face with fat, greasy fingers, roughly enough to hurt.

Don Corneo was known for many things, being disgusting was putting it short and not bluntly enough. The guy was a gangster with more pounds than brains, clad in a bright pink suit and with a semi-bald head that carried a curl of blond hair on top. He was not only a "womanizer" by having his men bring him women for his sick fantasies, but he was a liar, a traitor, and a coward. And he loved to visit new places for girls.

So, it was no wonder that when the girl dressed as a bee shivered and tried to get away from the gangster, someone stepped up. That someone was the bouncer. Clad in red dress pants and a matching opened trench coat, the man wore a dark orange button-up shirt and a yellow tie loosened around his neck. He had a pair of brown dress shoes and amber circular shades on the tip of his nose, leaving his deep blue eyes visible. What Don Corneo had, this man was the complete opposite. He was tall, muscular enough so that even his suit made him threatening, and rather handsome. His hair was pulled back in wavy spikes like an animal's mane, he had six scars on his cheeks similar to whiskers that made him appealing in a battle hardened way, and he had a gruff yet still attractive face. He had let his sideburns grow, like his father, but his gave him an even more feral and even mature look.

He also had a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of brass knuckles hidden in his sleeves. Once he cracked his fists by gripping them tightly enough, Don Corneo barely registered the man's metal covered knuckles flying at him until it was too late. The bee girl smiled in relief, "Mr. Naruto!" She cried in joy. The man was a bouncer, the best in the business, and had quite a reputation of being capable of fighting anything head on with only his fists as well as being quite a charming person. Part of that reputation could be backed up by the flying mob boss that landed on a heap a few yards from the hostess.

He gave the hostess a warm grin, "Get back to work, this kind of punk always has goons around and you're better when looking pretty out of fights." He slammed his brass knuckles together, creating sparks, "There's also a big sense of satisfaction in beating the Hell out of these guys, so you may want to step aside if I get too much joy."

Soon came in men armed with swords, knives, chains, and bats, all glaring at the blond bouncer. The man gave them a cocky grin while Don Corneo, with a bloody, ripped nose aimed a fat finger at Naruto while two of his lackeys held the fat mob boss up, "You bastard! Do you really think you'll get out of this one alive?"

The blond chuckled, "Dear costumer, I have a single policy: if I see some cruddy womanizer trying to harass the girls I'll take them out by force if necessary. And, quite frankly, I just didn't like you from the start."

"Get him!" The gangster cried and his grunts raced at Naruto.

The hostesses only saw the blond dash forward and just strike as he moved. He weaved around the strikes and punched everyone who got near him. The bee themed hostesses watched in amazement the blond work as he always did. It wasn't long before the streets started to clear out whenever Naruto started to work. The legends that had a special talent of seeing an enemy coming at him and not only reading their moves as if he could sense it the instant they thought of moving a muscle were true. But he replied at every crook – anyone who did something to steal from or hurt someone else - with lightning fast jabs that broke the air around his brass knuckles and would put so much force along all of his weight behind each strike. Thus it was no wonder that not many people lasted more than one punch against him.

Then it was just Naruto holding the last gangster by his collar with one hand while Don Corneo tried to crawl backwards away from the blond, "Well, you're the last one, any last words?" "Grk..." "Ok, good night!" And with a solid haymaker, the crook was out like a light.

That only left the mob boss crying in horror as the bouncer stepped towards him, "Wait, don't do this! I can give you women, money, drugs, anything! I can buy this place and give you all you want so-"

Naruto cut the man as he reared back his right fist, and brought it forth right into the gangster's face, "Yeah, you're not the first to say that." the blond said as he walked away from the man whose face pretty much resembled an abstract painting. The bouncer gave the hostesses a grin as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "Tell the boss I'll be smoking outside and to call anyone who can take care of these guys, ok? Thanks." He waved as he stood outside the hostess club and was about to light the cigarette in his lips.

But before he could take a long breath of smoke, someone yanked the cancer stick from his mouth, "Does Claire know of this?" The person had a familiar pink ponytail on the side of her head. She wore silver hopop earrings, a black armband on her right bicep, red plaid-pleated skirt lined with black lace, a white sleeveless dress shirt, a semi-transparent pink sweeper, an extra matching hair tie on her left wrist, black thigh-high stockings with a white diamond shape attached to the top of her left stocking, ivory ankle boots.

Naruto sighed as he leaned on a wall, looking at the teenage girl with pink hair in a side ponytail, "I'm an adult, what I do with my body is my business... and I've grown to like the smell of tobacco, Serah. Blame it on one of the many mentors I met in my life." He said as he remembered the person who taught him how to use wind, and briefly wondered if wind had something to do with him wanting to try cigarettes. "You've always ruined every attempt I've had on trying it out or even drinking. You're not my mom, you know?"

Serah pushed out his train of thought with her frown, "You're not getting any younger and you're still single. No woman would like to be around someone who smells like a burnt forest."

He grinned, "No woman, or just you?"

She gave him a smile and gently punched his arm, "Hey, I was still just a girl, and even before Claire joined the army you were still looking after me. I had a crush, I'll admit that, but I've grown." She said, and while it could be meant that she had grown over him, one could also note it could mean she had grown as a woman.

"Grown over me? Man, now I'm sad... Maybe a kiss would make it all better." He said with his best smile which just earned him a chuckle and another light punch to his arm. "So, how're things going? Last I heard, Claire's coming back soon for her birthday, but considering you two lived by mooching a pretty big lot of a random guy's efforts to make a living, I would like a quality gift for myself."

Serah grinned, "Yes, I will make you your favorite noodles, but you better give her a nice present."

He chuckled, "That's the only quality gift I need from you. As for the present… I guess that'd be not getting in her way."

Serah frowned, "Naruto, she doesn't hate you, you know it. She's just… well, herself."

The blond chuckled, "I know, but our dear Ice Queen needs her time and space, and I'd like it if it were the most faraway from any kind of weapon."

The girl looked down, her ponytail sliding off her shoulder, "You know she became a soldier to keep on bringing money, just like you did."

Naruto sighed, smacked his pack of cigarettes to take out one… and before he could pull it to his lips, a sigh from him came out when his fingers crushed the cigarette, "I can never get into smoking with you two around, so I don't think she'd get into being grumpy around you no matter what happens… Unless that Snow guy is involved, in which case-"

The girl pushed the man's shoulder, "Naruto, you're one to talk! When I talked about him to you it didn't take long for a big mess to follow you!"

The blond remembered that, a grin sliding into his face, "I think that's the only time I could've done something to make Lightning happy. She ended up giving me a real nice cupcake, you know? A cheap one, but still a good cupcake…"

Serah put a hand to her forehead, "You two are so overprotective."

Naruto turned at her, putting his pack of cigarettes back into his pockets, "You were the one who took me in when I was wounded and hungry, Claire's your sister… No matter what you do, you won't stop us from caring about you." He gave the girl a warm smile and patted her pink head, "Just know, if that guy really wanted to date you, he must be ready to surpass any of us. We'll be your guardians to the end of time."

Serah smiled, Naruto could be a bit of a brute, but she saw it in him, that bit of kindness she gave him years ago was returned, and it'd never stop.

(Flashback)

"What're you so happy about?" Naruto, with his trench coat hung on a chair in the dining room, looked as Serah walked into the house with a happy look on her face.

She held her books – after all she wanted to study history – to her chest as she sighed dreamily, "I think… I'm in love."

Alarms blared in the blond bouncer's mind as he straightened his tie while standing up, the loud warning noises in his head giving him bad déjà vu. "Please tell me you're not serious." He said, and before she could say a thing, he added, "You know Claire will want to maim the guy sooner or later, and she will come back sooner or later to find out some stranger is in your head instead of your studies." He patted her books with an index finger. "Some summer crush is something I need to know as your friend and Lightning's."

Serah pouted, "I know you, Naruto, and you're not going to fight him."

The blond raised his hands defensively, "Hey, the fact I use my fists in my job doesn't mean I will slap stupid everyone I meet." As Serah's gaze grew hotter, he shrugged and kept a calm smile, "Listen, it's either me meeting the guy… or it's Lightning finding out about him. You choose."

In just the span of five seconds, his trench coat was handed to him by a smiling Serah, "Have a nice trip, his name is Snow Villiers and he usually hangs around his friends wherever there are dangerous animals and monsters that can threaten Bodhum or at the café you go to, and that I hope you drink lemonade at." There her eyes turned a bit stern.

Sighing seemed his best option, followed by the truth, "Hey, you're the one reason I haven't gotten to take a sip of sake even after being legal." He then chuckled, "But you made the smart choice." He meant it, for he knew Claire, and he knew the pinkette would pummel first, and then maybe ask questions later, maybe.

Naruto had made his way to the café, there weren't many people, except for the owner who he waved at, "Oh, Naruto, what'll it be? A bottle of milk? Or has Mommy Serah told you it was too spicy for you?" the owner, a girl by the name of Lebreau, said with a chuckle. She had shoulder length black hair and light brown eyes, and wore a black pair of shorts so small they could've been mistaken by underwear, red shoes, a white loose blouse with puffy sleeves that was opened, and a purple bikini bra outside to keep her top hidden.

He nodded at her, giving her a glance over his amber tinted shades, making Lebreau sigh as she moved to the freezer and got out a glass bottle of ice cold milk she handled the man, "I don't suppose you know of someone by the name of Snow Villiers." He said, straight to the point, making the cook girl stop dead in her tracks.

Due to her slow turning around, it didn't take him much to know she knew who he was talking about, "Why're you looking for him?" she said, her arms crossed. Naruto may not have been bright as a kid, but after practicing how to read people in battle thanks to his sage training, he knew she was taking the defensive here and wouldn't talk, yet.

With a thumb, the cap of his bottle flew out, and he gulped the milk in one go, letting out a satisfied cold breath, "I've heard a few things of how he hunts for monsters around town." He said, not really evading her question, but he couldn't say he was there because he was perhaps the only person related to Serah who wouldn't kill him for getting the attention of said still young girl. He moved to the nearest seat and rested there, his bottle hanging in his thumb and index and middle fingers, raising it to the cook. "And I think I'll also have some lemonade, it's hot outside."

Lebreau gave him a ghost of a smile, "Well, then why are you wearing your suit, then?" she asked as she looked for lemons and cold water in the freezer to give her customer a really cold drink.

Naruto pulled at his trench coat, "Aside from the fact it makes me look better than any mafia grunt trying to play suave badass, I just like it." He told her with a smile. "Besides, as a kid I wore a jumpsuit all day, i0m used to the heat."

Lebreau shook her head and started making his lemonade, "You're trying too hard to be cool, cowboy." She said as she finished his drink and, after a quick stirring, handed it to him. "Now, why would you even want to show interest in what NORA does?"

"Nora?" Naruto echoed, "Is that like Snow's middle name or something?"

The girl let out a small laugh but shook her head, "No, it's the name of this group of vigilantes he has. You know, Real Life Heroes and stuff like that. He goes around fighting monsters, and due to getting some followers, he made a group: NORA. It stands for _'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority_'."

Kaguya groaned, a hand to her pale face, "**Naruto, I hate you, I loathe you, I despise your very soul… But if some idiot who comes with such a stupid name for any sort of organization, no matter if it's a kids club, is in the eyes of some girl as a love interest, then even I must ask you to do the world a favor… and get rid of him.**"

Lemonade would help clear his head for a rational thought, the bouncer's brain told him. So he took out something from his coat, it was a pink plastic straw, made of hard plastic, with a gold mouth piece like a pipe's, and a red small card from which hung a medal with the writing of: _Happy birthday, from Serah_. He put the straw in the glass and enjoyed the cold taste of lemonade on a summer day.

Once the glass was empty, he set it down, turned to Lebreau, and finally voiced his thoughts, not the Rabbit Goddess', "That… sounds like you know a lot about it." He said, trying to get more information.

Lebreau inwardly cringed, he was on to her, "The guy's a regular and a blabber mouth."

Naruto grinned, "So you know him."

The cook sighed, seeing no reason to lie, "Yes, he's an old friend of mine. So, will you tell me what do you want with him? I doubt a bouncer would be worried about saving the world."

A charming grin was part of her response, "I'm just a guy who likes to look good." He shrugged, "And I guess I'm curious about how someone can keep monsters out of town."

Lebreau sighed, "Well, the group does have weapons."

Naruto raised a brow, "And how do they get them? Because weapons aren't cheap, and I don't think the meaning behind NORA comes from someone with a high education or a job that pays big money."

A cook had to keep secrets, but Naruto was too good at reading people, "I put some of the money for the weapons… You're looking at one of its founders."

Naruto leaned closer to the girl, "So, how can I meet your leader? I just need to talk with him."

Lebreau raised a brow, "Not to be mean, big guy… But your reputation of breaking faces is something to be feared. Sure, you are a gentleman, but those manners kind of fly out the window when no girl is involved, or when a girl is involved by some asshole."

The blond looked at the brunette in the eye, "So you know my reason for being here is about a girl."

She sighed, six years as a bouncer reading people proved to make a good way to create a detective out of Naruto, "Serah wasn't exactly subtle when she came in and tried to talk to him."

Tired of not getting a straight answer, Naruto used his trump card, "It's either me talking with him… or it's him meeting Lightning, after I tell her that last bit of info you gave me, of course."

"He usually hangs out at the nearest gate, looking for monsters to hunt." She said without missing a beat. One thing was to have Naruto after you, and a very different one was to have Lightning after you.

It didn't take a genius to see the bigger evil. However, as soon as he left, the café owner made a call.

As Naruto exited the café and walked through the streets with his trench coat blowing in the nice summer breeze like a cape, Kaguya decided to stop being silent, "**So what's your big plan? Find the guy and force him to stay away from Serah so that big sister of hers doesn't kill him? In my opinion, you should end his existence already.**"

Naruto sighed at Kaguya's words, '_You really hate men, don't you? I think there's a word for it, but I don't remember it quite right. Oh wait, I think it's called being a bitch._'

She growled, "**It's called being stuck with an idiot like you!**" She spat back, "**Men have been the thorn on my side, I wanted kids, they seal me up, I try to make my perfect world, and you show up. Serah think she's in love, and she ends up going after someone who thinks it's cool to be a hero wannabe to mask he's actually dropped out of society entirely.**"

Naruto sighed, '_We still don't know the guy. I'll just give him a chance, ok?_'

Kaguya cracked a cruel smirk, "**You will regret it, because idiots like you are bound to create trouble.**"

Naruto grumbled, '_Look who's talking._'

Kaguya grunted, "**That idiot's clearly taking advantage of that girl's money to buy weapons, and for what? Playing hero?**"

Naruto pulled out a cigarette and put it on his lips, still unlighted, '_Well, it's idiots like me who defeated you, so I'm calling you biased._'

She grew mad, "**And I'm calling you a delusional fool trying too hard to play hardboiled cop!**" she shouted, a hand to her face to try to calm down, "**Everything you said and did in our fight was stupidity incarnate!**"

He grinned, his cigarette moving like an appendage of his own along his smile, '_And it still worked to beat you._' The Rabbit Goddess said no more, she only felt her face grow red as she grabbed it with both hands. With a grin of triumph, he looked into his trench coat for a lighter, "Huh?" he asked, upon not feeling the cold metal of his… wait… "Oh, that's right, I don't have a lighter." Serah really had him whipped.

Kaguya moaned into her hands, "**How could I lose to the likes of this idiot?!**"

But as he passed by, he found someone dashing by, Serah. Not only that, the girl had turned on the same corner he planned to go. Naruto smelled something fishier than the docks of Bodhum. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on, "Trying to warn him… Hey, it's not like I'd do what Claire and bop the guy's head if he so much as looked at me weird."

Kaguya chuckled darkly, "**If only more girls were like h er, all idiots like you would be in a leash.**"

Naruto grinned, making Kaguya sweat as she knew it meant something really foolish would come her way. He just chuckled inwardly, '_Kinky._' The goddess blushed as she buried her face into her hands in an attempt to muffle her groans at the idiot's way to anger her, mock her, and mostly make her prison truly worse than death.

The bouncer was ready to follow Serah, and then something made him gasp, a scream. It was Serah screaming in terror. It didn't take Naruto a second to race forward to the direction of the frightened girl, and soon he found her. There she was, on her back and with her arms moving her up as she tried to crawl backwards away from the gates to the outside of the city. The reason she and soon many other civilians were terrified was because some gray, four-legged beasts with blue eyes, white patches of fur on their bodies, and sharp claws and teeth had appeared from the opened gates.

One civilian raced past the blond, "Where are NORA when you need them?!"

"They ran off!" shouted another civilian, "Something about an emergency with some shady guy after them."

Naruto face-palmed, "Lebreau, you better give me a permanent discount on your lemonade."

Serah watched as one of the beasts was about to pounce at her with its front claws raised… only to have its lower jaw sink into its throat by a furious punch from a blond guardian of the girl. There he stood, clad in red and with his brass knuckles breaking through bone. He, however, had changed in Serah's eyes. The ever cheerful bouncer who'd take a fight at the hostess club he worked on was replaced by a very stoic man.

"N-Naruto…?" the girl asked in shock.

And at the sound of his name, the blond she knew returned, his head turning to her with a cheerful grin, "Sorry for the delay, Serah." He raised his fists, this time, unseen by anyone's eyes, using wind chakra to infuse the knuckles. "Sorry for not having a shining armor, but I'm still ready to fight for my princess." He winked at her, making Serah blush.

Another beast rushed at Naruto, who ducked under its swipe and delivered a wild upper-cut that with his wind chakra not only nailed a devastating blow, but split its jaw in two. The monster fell flat on its back, dying of blood loss while it remained unconscious. Naruto then returned to the stoic warrior Serah had seen, his teeth bared at the creatures before him while his blue eyes could've killed all monsters with his stern stare.

"H-How… cool…" one of the civilians gasped from the sidelines, watching behind a barrel at the blond pummeling he beasts, "Not even Snow's trench coat can grant such power… What's with those brass knuckles?"

Naruto spoke up to the other civilians as he took a defensive, if loose stance, "Hey, all of you better get away! This is the first time in a long time I can go all out, and I know real well how to punch and how hard."

Three of the beasts rushed at Naruto, who pushed up his shades to cover his eyes as he rushed at them. One of the beasts tried to bite off Naruto's neck, Naruto side-stepped the bite, spun around his toes, and then delivered his right fist with a powerful backhanded punch. What followed was the monster being forced to stand on its hinder legs from the strike, only for the still spinning Naruto to use the momentum of his spin and slam one of his heels into the side of its jaws, breaking the neck. Serah gasped, she didn't know Naruto was this… brutal.

"H-He killed it so easily, what is he?!" one of the hiding civilians asked.

Naruto groaned, "Killing it doesn't mean I enjoy it…" Serah heard him, and noticed the bitterness in his voice as the other two monsters kept their charge. Naruto let one of them jump at him, with its claws extended at its side to try to tackle and then rip Naruto apart. The bouncer stomped forward and delivered his right fist forward. The crowd watched as Naruto let the monster's claws sail in the air beside his head, passing by his trench coat without damaging the red cloth, one second before his right fist nailed the monster so hard in the forehead that the shock itself crushed both its skull and the entirety of its spine, killing it quickly.

The last beast stopped its attack, and watched the blond with careful eyes. Naruto kept his fists up and waited for it to attack him… before tilting his head to the side, the universal sign for telling someone to get out. The monster remained where it was for a few seconds, then turned around and dashed back out of Bodhum.

The bouncer finally let out a sigh of relief, "It shouldn't have come to this, but what can you do with beasts that can't be reasoned with?" He groaned as he put his shades back on the tip of his nose and then turned to a stunned Serah, offering her a hand, "I hope I didn't scare you…" he said, and to Serah, he was still himself. The way he sounded both embarrassed at his actions and yet showed so much concern in his deep blue eyes for her was the same Naruto who one night had managed to get a job at a place that was a target for the mafia all so he could help pay off Serah and Lightning's debts.

She smiled as she took his hand to get up, "No, you're my knight in shining armor."

He gave her a warm smile… which turned into a cringe at the next words, "Don't worry, Bodhum, your heroes are here! Let NORA take care of- what happened here?"

Naruto saw a tall, muscular blond man with a black bandana that had a long bang of hair between his eyes, a white trench coat with half its sleeves missing, a blue top, black leather gloves, baggy gray pants, and black combat boots accompanied by some kids and a muscular dark skinned man with a red fiery Mohawk armed with assault rifles.

The bouncer groaned inwardly as he spoke as calmly as he could to the other blond, who needed a shave, "Let me guess, you're Snow Villiers, right?" he asked, with a finger aimed at the leader of NORA.

The man nodded, "That's me, who wishes to know? Are you perhaps looking forward to joining our group? Because if you did this, then you're on board!" the man said with a cheerful grin and a thumb up.

Naruto, who had yet to let go of Serah's hand, sighed, "Not interested, I already have a nice job which pays good. Now I'll be just taking Serah home… Have a nice day."

Snow was left blinking at the man leaving, now even more confused as he held his bearded chin with a hand, "Huh, modest guy, mustn't be used to big heroes praising him for a job well done."

But Kaguya knew what the trouble was: "**He reminds you a lot of your past self, doesn't he?**" and, with a sigh, continued, "**If it helps you… I'd rather be defeated by the likes of you than by a grown man acting like a kid.**"

Naruto chuckled, '_Is that concern for me?_'

She groaned, "**I take it back, you're worthy only of being my carpet.**"

He smirked, his good mood back, '_Love you too…_' she growled, but after an inward sigh, he added, '_And… thanks, it's good to see you trying to be friendly for once._'

"**What choice do I have for now? But beware… when I find a way out, you will beg for mercy.**"

'_Then I look forward to it when it happens in never._'

"**I just hate you…**"

The venom in her voice was like music for his ears.

But sooner than later, the peace and joy in Naruto's new life would disappear.

**XXXXXX**

**And that's my rap!**

**First, a few things… I don't like Snow, at all. Sorry guys, but the way he acted after Hope's mom was killed disturbs me with how he tries to be laidback and not think about it or try to get more serious and mature. He knows that people WILL die if he fights, and yet instead of trying to grow up and be more mature, or realize his actions will have unrepairable consequences, he just keeps the whole hero act. Also, his whole "Heroes don't need plans" is a lie, even Canon Naruto managed to come up with plans mid-fight against Neji and Zabuza, and he at least knew what he wanted to do.**

**In short, I don't really like Snow's character… but I won't bash him or have entire chapters dedicated to bash him. What I will do is have Naruto force him to not do the stupid thing that will get people killed.**

**As for this story… well, last month I got depressed knowing Naruto would have a shitty ending… and I'm getting proved right with every single chapter. There is beating a dead horse, and there's what Kishimoto is doing to try to squeeze money out of a franchise so long and mediocre that ending it now would be a mercy killing.**

**So, I watched a play-through of Final Fantasy XIII… and I can say the story is in serious need of an editor. I can say there is good in it, Lightning is cool and even tried to help Hope grow up, and while Vanille seems to have some mental illness she didn't come off as annoying to me… a bit tiring, yes, but I've been annoyed by far worse.**

**What bugged me in the game was that we never got to know the characters and their motivations before the train wreck. If you got to have characters move, at least try to show why and not have them pop mid-story and then vaguely explain things… And yes, I am describing Kaguya's appearance there, so you can say I am bitter about a lot of things.**

**Now, for what I know you are interested in: Kaguya is here to play a smarmy critic to everything Naruto does, and all around actually have a personality unlike canon. She despises Naruto but six years locked in his gut have softened her, very, very, very slightly.**

**As for the pairings… There's the obvious ones, it's a harem for Naruto with Lightning, Serah, and, of course, Kaguya. I know some of you guys may really hate the Rabbit Goddess, but she was just a tool to forgive the Uchiha clan, all so Kishimoto could have Sasuke as a savior and get Madara back to life… I feel sorry for her, I really do, because we got no reason behind her actions with the exception of vague exposition, or even why or how her sons would need to seal her, or even more details whatever made her be what she is. I just pity Kaguya, and her defeat felt anticlimactic because she just popped out of nowhere.**

**While this is a new fic, I still think I can pull it off like the others. I know I will annoy many of you with my updates, but I write for my own joy, all I ask for is patience, and if you enjoy what I write, then that's great. If you don't, well, sorry but I write what I have fun with.**

**Swordslinger out!**


	2. Chapter 2

I OWN NOTHING

It sort of saddens me to think this may be one of my easiest fics to write considering the Final Fantasy 13 story-line is near as linear as the world-exploring. But I'll do some changes to it.

Important but much needed rant with me adding ridiculous needless humor as I beat a dead rotting horse. Yes, this is me releasing a lot of stress:

What the hell? Just when you think Naruto can't get any worse, BAM! Suddenly Sasuke is the only one who can free people from their prison in Dreamland, and he just wants to create a "revolution." Why? Because, as I've said to several of my friends, it's most likely to end with Naruto somehow reforming Sasuke for the whole bullcrap friendship that Kishimoto tries to shove down our throats. It's all so Kishimoto can teach us that even if someone tries to kill you, enslaves your best friends, and tries to take over the world to change it to his certainly mentally unstable view of perfection you should still forgive them.

No, just no. Naruto did most of the fighting against Kaguya who was a major letdown for the little to none build-up to her appearance to forgive the Uchiha Clan... And Madara didn't even get to die in pain! He just died peacefully while Hashirama somehow still saw him as a friend even after all the bullshit murdering he did and forced Obito to do - the one that hurt me the most being killing Konan who could've been a great woman to rock Naruto's world every night after all he did for her, - all because Black Zetsu just hinted him that murdering could be good. No, Blazk Zetsu says so himself: all the Uchiha clan needed to murder people was a random idea that it could be good for them.

Now Sasuke is the final boss, and while I hope he will die by Naruto's hands and that Naruto will finally end up maturing into a real man - and perhaps have a nasty six-some with Samui, Karui, Mei, Mabui and a resurrected Konan -, I know Kishimoto will try to force some friendship bullshit so Sasuke gets redeemed. What makes it worse is the fact Sasuke won't free anyone until he's killed Naruto, the blond who fought Kaguya all on his own while Sasuke got his dumb ass thrown into another dimension. Well, at least we have FanFiction to fix the mess.

So here's something for a crack one-shot: make Kaguya grab Naruto, feel how he is a man superior to others by "accidentally" grabbing a feel of the sword in his pants, and then decide to screw the whole business of world conquering to make eternal love to him after killing Sasuke. That'd have been an actually satisfying ending, to be honest, it'd have been worth talking about. I mean, even a bad ending with Kaguya killing Sasuke, taking over the world, and having Naruto as her sex slave would have been more satisfying... at least Naruto would have gotten laid.

Ok, you can tell my tension with Naruto has reached nearly sexual levels, so with that out of the way and with me calmed down, let's start this fic, shall we?

**XXXXXX**

For their smiles

"Ok, you can do this, Naruto."

The bouncer spoke to himself in the middle of Bodhum's plaza, looking around the stores as he remembered why he was there along the petite pinkette by his side. Serah herself giggled at the blond man's uneasy and even nervous look. His face was one of dread while his eyes darted every few minutes from one place to the other to try to find what could help him. He took a deep breath and moved forward.

Serah finally spoke up to him in order to calm down the blond, "Come on, Naruto, it's not that bad. It's just Light's birthday."

Naruto sighed, "Well, that's sort of the issue, little lady." He said, still calling her by the simple nickname he gave her six years ago, "Your sister's not one to like surprises, or joy, or me. So trying to put all together for her birthday doesn't make things look very joyful. That, and I just think she may have some allergy to happiness."

Serah laughed briefly into her hands, before giving her second guardian and mentor a light punch on his shoulder, "Come on, Naruto, you know she's not that mean. Light is a good person deep down, you know it, she just needs to let it out more, and what better way than getting her a nice present for her birthday?"

"I'd still prefer you didn't buy her anything sharp and/or pointy." The red suited bouncer said as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and put one on his lips. While Serah frowned, he didn't light it at least, he didn't even have a lighter to begin with. So she let him, he usually just chewed on the filter every five minutes or more when having the cancer stick in his mouth for long times, but he still didn't smoke because of her.

The two walked around, looking for what they'd need for the elder pinkette's party at home. Nothing too fancy, but still something colorful to cheer her up. They also needed some good cake to sweeten the young woman's mouth and perhaps also her words. But, most importantly, they needed a gift. Lightning wasn't a girly woman, so she was pretty much the opposite of Serah, and had little to no pleasures unless brooding counted as a hobby. The amount of brood time the eldest pinkette had was unnerving for the blond to say the least.

He finally spit out his cigarette and spoke up, "Think you can look for the cake and whatever present you want to give her? I will try to find or think of something that may have her frown less when I give it to her."

"Sure." Serah said with her ever lovely smile, "Let's meet here soon, ok? And I'd recommend something Lightning wouldn't expect from you." and with that she started walking off to the weapon shop. "Oh, and Naruto…" she said, stopping to smile at him, "I think I'll make your favorite tonight, noodles."

He grinned, "It's always lovely to have your cooking around, but I thought you were tired of them."

She returned him the grin, "It's because I don't eat them as much as you… But… well, this shall be special, ok? I want to see you happy too before Lightning comes back." And then she finally left.

Naruto's mind went to a lot of places depending on what Serah could be at the weapon shop for. A knife, and his brain created a thought bubble carrying a smaller version of himself in a cartoonish, and cute looking form with an oversized head – a chibi – with another equally cartoonish Lightning throwing daggers at him. A sword, the image of the pink haired young woman was still cartoonish, but she was spinning like a hurricane, creating gales with countless blades poking out like spikes while Chibi Naruto was trapped in the vortex getting turned into minced meat. A spear, Chibi Naruto was tied to a gigantic dart board, covering the very center, while Lightning readied herself for a javelin throwing competition with him as the target. A gun, he could see as Chibi Lightning dual-wielded revolvers and forced Chibi Naruto to dance in order to avoid the bullets barely missing his feet. A bow and arrow, and Chibi Naruto was tied on a tree, with an apple in his mouth and Chibi Lightning trying to see if she could take out the apple and his Adam's apple.

"I better buy Lightning something nice." The smoothly dressed bouncer said to himself with a dreadful expression.

He walked through the stores with the images flashing in his head of Lightning's future mood should she not be happy. She never was happy, but making her any less happy than usual was not in his plans. The blond looked around for anything that may interest her, but the young woman's list of likes was non-existent at best with the exception of training, being a soldier, weapons, and Serah. He stopped when noticing movement at his side. A little kid not even ten with dark skin, a rather bouncy afro, a set of colorful overalls and long-sleeved shirt was looking around under a bench in the middle of the empty spaces in front of the shops and whatever few food establishments were around for tired men carrying bags to rest and eat. Having accompanied Serah to do some shopping meant he'd visit an ice cream parlor while waiting for her.

"Hey, kid, have you lost something?" The bouncer asked.

The kid turned at him and spoke up, "I mustn't talk with strangers." He said and kept looking under the bench.

Naruto chuckled, "Smart choice." He said and looked around, "Why is a kid like this alone?"

"I lost my Chocobo." The boy replied, still not looking at the stranger.

Naruto blinked as the kid replied. When first arriving to this new place, he had to learn some things. Finding out that there were gigantic yellow birds capable of being used as horses was more than a surprise. So, judging by the fact the kid was looking around under a bench and that Chocobos were at least seven feet tall, he knew he had to be looking for either a small baby, or a toy. But, just in case, the blond took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A moment later, he grinned as he walked behind the bench to a trash can after detecting a sign of life quite different than all others. A little chick was flapping its tiny wings so fast it somehow managed to fly despite defying all laws of its biology.

With a smile on his face, the blond watched as the little chick ate some buttered corn someone threw half-eaten on the ground. After a quick motion, the blond captured the bird in both hands and grinned at it, "Hey there, little one. I think you really worried someone." The little bird tilted its yellow head to one side, as if it understood him enough to be confused. He turned to the kid, "Hey, boy, I found a Chocobo, is it yours?"

The child looked at the bird and a large smile spread on his face, "It is! Thanks, mister!"

The blond allowed his smile to warm up along his cheeks, "Hey, you're going to make me feel embarrassed. You should get back home now, and be careful with your little friend, ok?" Naruto said as he put the bird in the boy's hand, but not after poking its tiny beak with a finger.

The boy nodded and ran off, Naruto watching as the boy soon hugged a taller and much older version of himself, a man with a beard, a green coat, a puffier afro, beige pants, and black boots. What made the man stand out was the fact that the chick soon flew off the kid's hands and into the man's hair, like it was its nest. Naruto noted how happy the man was to see the boy back, caring for him more than his own life.

The vision of the kid smiling at his father, with the man hugging him tenderly made Kaguya finally speak, "**I thought you were worried about that woman's mood if she found out you didn't bring her a gift.**"

Sighing, he replied calmly, '_I still got a few more days, and this day is just starting. I can allow myself to help others._' As he got lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure what Lightning could want that would make her tolerate him on her birthday, he saw a girl pass by, in a nice dress. He hummed, '_Hey, Kaguya…_'

Groaning at the casual use of her name, she replied, "**What is it? I also don't remember giving you the right to call me by my name.**"

Dismissing her grumpiness was an ease when considering the blond also dealt with Lightning, he had experience with unfriendly women thanks to them, '_You're a woman, right?_' But that experience would usually get kicked out the window when Naruto was at a loss or needed something done in his ever unsubtle way.

Baring her teeth, her answer came out like a venomous bite, "**I gave birth, have flesh bags that make perverts drool, and last I checked I had a double X chromosome. What's your point?**"

Naruto ignored her bad mood, '_Well, when we were fighting you were wearing a rather nice kimono._'

Kaguya felt herself smiling smugly, but quickly killed the movement of the corners of her mouth, "**You mean before or after you had to deal with that traitor after he sealed the Tailed Beasts?**"

Barely biting back a sigh he answered her, '_They're the same. More importantly, I want to get Claire a dress. Would you give me your opinion considering you two dislike me, or am I only wasting my time?_'

Her tongue got sharper than a blade, "**You actually think I'd help the one man who helped to seal me only to free me in order to get rid of a bigger pest and then seal me in him like I'm some tool?!**"

He smiled, pulled out a cigarette, and started to chew on the filter, '_I needed your help that time. However, you still tried to turn the world into an army of white tree freaks. Did you expect me to let you do that, twiddling my thumbs after all I went through? You should've known I'm too stupid to accept defeat._' He spat out the cigarette into a trash can and kept walking. '_Besides, it was either sealing you or HIS alternative._'

Kaguya closed her two lower eyes, crossed her arms, and spoke up, "**Try to get her something formal. That girl dresses too much like a punk.**"

He chuckled, '_I'm softening you._'

She gritted her teeth, "**No, you're not. You should be grateful I can recognize you helped me, but do not expect me to ever thank you after the mess you got us into.**"

He groaned inwardly, '_Hey, last I checked, it took the two of us for that song and dance._'

The two went silent, not wanting to remember the extremes Naruto went through when Sasuke Uchiha declared his revolution. At that time, Naruto had finally grown tired of him. Not only because the self-proclaimed righteous avenger was thinking of backstabbing the only one who had helped him seal Kaguya to begin with, but the past had finally come to haunt Naruto. The moment the Uchiha said he wouldn't save anyone unless Naruto was dead so the incarnation of Indra could have his way, the blond knew what to do. Naruto wasn't going to reform Sasuke after what the Uchiha did, because if someone tries to kill you, enslaves your best friends, and tries to take over the world to change it to his certainly mentally unstable view of perfection you should not forgive them.

So it came to the desperate measure of unleashing Kaguya. The goddess had seen what the Uchiha had done, and seeing the weakened Naruto who had fought most of the war with his own power and the one he had to borrow from his friend, barely breathing after the exhaustion started to eat his body, she knew who she should kill, the one who abused his powers and had done little to none of the fighting against her. Once Sasuke was killed by a far more powerful foe, Kaguya turned to the exhausted Naruto and approached him to finish her job… Little did she know the blond was not as stupid as he let on. When the blond made plans, they were best when made in the middle of a bad situation to show even an idiot could come up with something so ridiculously stupid, it just had to work.

A massive amount of energy capable of creating new dimensions messing with the universes later, and the two were here, with Naruto in a dress shop picking up two dresses. He carried a black backless night dress with a white belt hanging around the waist, and a white summer dress with a pink trim and a matching pink sash. Kaguya herself looked at the pieces of cloth and examined them, finding a flaw.

"**They're too tight.**" She said, "**Buy a bigger set, or she will think you're trying to embarrass her by compressing her chest.**"

Naruto sweat-dropped, '_How do you even know that?_'

"**I was pregnant with two kids to have proper successors only to get backstabbers, I can tell when a dress will fit a body or not. Trust me, raising two punks will make anyone bitterly remember things about carrying them in their womb.**"

Naruto sighed a bit too loudly, '_Man, I was right, you have no love… Devil woman._'

Before Kaguya could try to chew out his weak comeback, a clerk, a young girl, spoke when noticing Naruto's loud sigh, "Is everything all right, sir? Would you like some help to find the perfect dress for your wife?"

Naruto chuckled, "Heh, thanks for the care, but I'm still single…" Kaguya inwardly growled as several women who had had their eyes on the tall, muscular, and gruffly handsome blond put more attention at the mention of his social status, "I'm just looking for a present for a friend of mine."

The clerk smiled, "Well, if you'd like, I could show you how good the dresses look by trying them on."

Kaguya face-palmed, "**As a woman, I just died inside with how unsubtle you are, sweetheart.**" She said to the clerk, even if the girl didn't hear her.

Naruto chuckled, having heard the goddess and getting an idea, "It's fine, I just need these in a bigger size, and then I'll be out." The clerk pouted along some of the other girls.

"You should get the white one." Naruto heard someone from behind. It was a woman with blonde platinum hair, a kind smile, and a rather good figure if the boy she had walking behind her happened to be her son; they had the same face. She had a simple brown necklace under an ivory wraparound sweater with off-shoulder sleeves and wore cream capris and brown wedge sandals.

The kid obviously didn't look forward to the shopping due to his bored expression, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. Naruto spoke, nonetheless, "Why would you say so?"

The woman smiled kindly, "Well, dark colors are more aggressive than bright colors, to give her that dress would mean you want her to use it… For example, you wear rather bright colors, which give a more calming and welcoming sensation."

Naruto was lost, but raised the white dress, "So, this one? Well, thanks." The woman nodded with her smile and went on with her shopping.

She spoke with her son for a bit as she picked some clothes, and Naruto noticed their similar silvery blonde neck-length hair which made him look at his darker and messy mane for an amused chuckle. The kid wore a short-sleeved orange and yellow jacket with a detailed green neckerchief over a black shirt, and black gloves with white palms. He also had a pair of green cargo pants with a black storage pack hanging from a black belt over his left leg, and green boots. But what called Naruto's attention was that he was twirling a large yellow and blue boomerang in one hand as he followed his mother.

Naruto paid for Lightning's new white dress. He wanted to be out of the shop and, quite frankly, Lightning would be giving him that cold stare of hers with the raised eyebrow questioning what took him so long if he made Serah wait. So, once he paid for dress in a size Kaguya told him would fit the pinkette better, the blond made his way out to meet Serah with a bag carrying a small box.

Now with something that had a slight chance of making Lightning brood less, the blond felt more at ease. Six years with the sisters meant some of the most uncomfortable moments when Lightning's birthday was involved considering how the woman seemed to hate fun. The first birthday, Naruto tried something to pull at the girl's heartstrings and baked a good chocolate cake that Serah enjoyed. Lightning merely looked at him and called him cheap even if she did eat, though fortunately Serah forced her sister to be nice, thank the meal, and admit it was at least good.

The second birthday, he tried buying her a set of tear shaped earrings, earning a rather dry reply, "Naruto, where do you think I'd put these? There's no way I'm putting holes in my ears all my life."

On third birthday was new, he tried buying her a book that was supposed to be popular with girls and even Serah liked. Claire shot it down, "It's about some ditz falling for a bland guy with the same explosive chemistry a rotten piece of wood would have when thrown into a puddle."

By the fourth birthday, Lightning was training to be a soldier while Serah tried to be a good student, and Naruto tried to buy her a phone, "Sorry, they don't allow phones. PSICOM's somehow too paranoid to let anyone make calls without their own phones." Naruto inwardly pictured himself throwing darts at pictures of PSICOM executives.

For the fifth birthday, he got the girl a music player with headphones and a few songs Serah selected, to which she replied, "I'm not that much into my sister's music, but thanks. At least you tried." That felt like a knife to his heart, but Serah spoke to at least give him some credit since the elder pinkette could download her own music.

It was easy for one to see why Naruto would think Lightning would shoot him down. It wasn't like she was picky, but the woman was hard to make happy. However, he knew the pink haired soldier had a soft spot, its name was Serah. She had a heart; she cared for her sister enough to mature at a really early age. For Naruto, someone like that couldn't really be bad.

Now it was the sixth birthday, Lightning would be twenty one and be legal for going to bars and all that jazz, so Naruto really didn't want to ruin it. Impressing Lightning was as easy as impressing one's future parents-in-law while dressed in a gimp suit. In short, it was hard, and it always came with some dry remarks about your choices that made you die a bit inside.

He looked into the sky and chuckled, "The wind feels nice." He said as a breeze kicked in through the plaza. With his chakra affinity being wind and his current situation, the soft and clean air of Cocoon usually cheered him up. He finally arrived at the point where he had to meet Serah and sat down on a bench, enjoying the wind as he waited for the girl.

In the background, he could listen to old school music from Cocoon playing, and soon he was whispering the lyrics, "It's been a long day's night… and I've been working like a dog… It's been a long day's night…"

"I should be sleeping like a log…" Serah said as she sat beside him with a smile, a paper bag with a decorated box inside, and her legs swinging due to her small stature.

He gave her a grin and was about to reach for his pack of cigarettes to chew on the filter of one, when they heard some noise. Naruto noticed an all too familiar kid with silvery blonde hair and the same woman who helped him choose Lightning's dress.

One of the men was clad completely in black with a red vest, had a black military coat underneath with matching pants, and carried a sneer as he walked to the kid and his mother. The guy had red hair though it was hard to see since he seemed to have shaved his head the last week, and had a nasty scowl with many yellow teeth showing with his sneer. What called the attention was that behind this man were several men in suits, all with either an arm or leg in a cast, followed by the beaten up Don Corneo with a new white collar keeping his head up, and a special cast covering his nose while his pig-shaped face was mostly covered in bandages. But what made the scene threatening was the red haired man's weapon: it was a large cleaver sword, a black handle attached to a rectangular blood red piece of metal with a silvery sharp edge about two-thirds of a foot wide, and two and a half foot long, meaning it was quite heavy (It's basically Bullet Heaven, Sol Badguy's sword in Guilty Gear Xrd).

"So, I've seen you're fond of Uzumaki, huh?" the fat gangster said with a smirk.

The woman was beyond confused, "Who?"

Don Corneo got madder, "Don't play with me, hag! I've seen you talk with him!" the fat mobster walked to her but was stopped by the kid who pushed him back. Due to the fat gangster being a massive coward unable to fight, he easily fell flat on his fat ass, which got him angry, "Damn punk!"

The man in the red vest dashed forward in the blink of an eye and swatted at the kid. His hand moved like a whip, the force shrugging aside gales of wind as he planned on making the kid spin in the air from the strike to kiss the floor… only to find his wrist caught by a blond bouncer's. "Damn punk? That should be my line, you cruddy mobster." Naruto said as he shoved back the mercenary, because clearly a man who'd hit a kid for a gangster's sake had limited job options. The kid watched in shock as the bouncer had stopped the strike before it connected with his face.

"You're the one they want?" the kid asked as he stepped back.

Naruto smirked sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, "See the tube of lard?" he asked with a finger aimed at Don Corneo who grew red in fury as the kid nodded, "I kind of kicked him and most members of his gang out of the club I work in, quite literally."

Don Corneo growled, "Who do you think you are, Uzumaki? Not only do you break my face, scaring my chances with a beauty every night away, but dare to still try to look better than me and having all the cutie pies pay attention to you!" he shouted, not having liked at all the way the blond man called the attention of the lovely girls in the dress store.

Naruto, Serah, the two silvery blondes, even the merc, and other gangsters sweat-dropped at those words. The blond opened his mouth, "Well, I can say I know the feeling." He admitted, having bad memories of Sasuke doing little to nothing and somehow having most girls at their class after him even when he treated them like flies. That was one reason of why he didn't regret to finally snap and getting rid of the Uchiha.

The gangster stomped a foot furiously like a kid who wasn't getting his toy, "Don't get cocky, Uzumaki, this time your luck has run out!" he aimed a finger at the blond, "First, I'm going to take the pretty thing with you." He said with a smirk as he looked at Serah, who felt shivers of disgust running up her spine before hiding behind Naruto so the fat mobster stopped trying to undress her with his eyes, "And then I'll have my boys breaking every bone in your body after your friends watch my new employee cut you down." The redhead held his sword in both hands, the tip aimed at Naruto.

Naruto sighed, pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and started to chew on the filter of one before he spoke, "Well…" here he raised his arms to his sides while boringly looking at the mobster, "What're you waiting for?"

The merc rushed at Naruto quickly, raising his sword over his head to try to vertically cut the bouncer in half. Naruto saw this coming a mile away and grinned. In one second, the blond stomped forward and raised forth one foot. His simple but still classy shoe made contact like every night at the Honeybee Club, though instead of bee themed hostesses cheering for him, it was some civilians from Bodhum along the mother, her son, and Serah. The merc stumbled backwards and clutched his chest, unable to comprehend how the bouncer's shoe managed to hurt him when he had a freaking metal plate beneath his vest. The mercenary looked down and, to his horror, Naruto's sole left a mark that dented both the vest and the thick metal plate beneath it that had been meant to stop bullets.

"Let me tell you two important things." Naruto started as he moved forward, "One, never try to harm others to get to me." The merc heard Naruto speak.

That was distraction enough to give Naruto all the time he needed to put his old brass knuckles on and rush at the merc. Naruto's left hand made contact, a direct strike to the chest. But as the merc started to backpedal, Naruto stomped forward again and brought forth his left metal covered fist again, sending the merc up into the air. And then, a third strike by his left hand, right in the gut. The mercenary gasped as his vest was taking out his breath due the way it was getting crushed by the blond, and said bouncer had already knocked the wind out of him with the first punch.

"Two, you never try to tick me off!" and with that said, the blond finally used his right hand. His fist sailed with so much force and strength that when the blow connected the red vest got shredded to pieces, ragged cloth and bits of metal flying over the hole Naruto's fist made as the merc went flying back, his sword finally free from his hand and falling to the ground with a heavy if dry thud.

The merc flew against Don Corneo's men, knocking them out as they fell to the ground, leaving the pudgy mobster to watch as Naruto approached him, "W-Wait, we can still talk about this!"

Naruto gripped his fists. By this time, his worn out brass knuckles had finally given in to his strength over the years and the last fights he has had. The strength of his grip shattered the brass knuckles into small pieces, but Naruto's own flesh and bone knuckles had always been more than enough to get a job done. But the blond noted the large slab of metal the merc used as a sword, and picked it up in his right hand, holding it in an inverted grip like he had seen Azuma with his trench knives. The fat gangster started to sweat bullets as he fell once again fat on his ass in fear… and Naruto noticed something.

A sniff, two sniffs, and a third one… and he finally looked down to the mobster's pants, stained and wet. The blond groaned, "You really have no decency…" here he grinned, "Well…" he crouched and pinched the scared one of the literally piss-less gangster's cheeks with his left hand, "What was that about having something with a sweet thing?" his grin was still there, but the way it was obviously forcefully friendly made the mother cover her son's eyes in case things went beyond what the boy should see. But Naruto continued, "I mean, you could be a gentleman and pay up for our latest shopping spree. It's been a long day for me, and I wanted to buy some nice stuff too. I am sure you must feel generous with all the money you must have." His grin said it was best to pay, while the sword his singlehandedly hefted on his shoulder confirmed it.

As the gangster gave fast and terrified nods, Serah was glad that Naruto was kind to her. Had she not met the blond perhaps the bouncer wouldn't be a bouncer at all, but controlling all the mafia in Cocoon with that kind of attitude. It was a bit scary how Naruto could "negotiate" with people. However, she was relieved that such a thing wouldn't happen, for the red clad bouncer would still be her kind knight no matter what.

However, just as Don Corneo gave Naruto all of his money, someone tapped his shoulder, a now familiar kindly smiling blonde woman, "Excuse me, Mr. Uzumaki, may I talk to him?" she asked as she moved forward, not even bothering for an answer as she kept her eyes closed, her lips tight in a smile, and her hands up as she cracked her knuckles, "Sir… did you just call me a hag?"

Naruto just patted the mobster on the shoulder with a smile of his own, "Well, it was nice knowing you."

Five minutes of brutal female wrath later, the mother was back to herself, a hand on her chest as she breathed relief out, her smile chirper than before, her eyes still closed, but a brighter look was on her face, "My, that certainly helped me calm down." She said as the tangled mess of pain that had been Don Corneo twitched behind her, "I must say I apologize for the outburst, but that man had been willing to hurt us."

"It comes with my job, ma'am." Naruto said, trying to be respectful after seeing the middle-aged woman beat up the fat gangster with the fury of a tempest. The son himself kept a few steps of distance between him and the woman he now wasn't very sure was his mother or not.

The blonde mother smiled kindly, "Well, a mother has to be tough." She said with a smile. Naruto and Kaguya had the same thought: agreed. The former had this thought because his mother was a tomboy who managed to help him keep down a furious kitsune demon. And the latter had to agree since she had been about to control the world had it not been for her current living prison. Kaguya herself even felt a bit smug about it, but decided to keep quiet. "But I must thank you for helping my son."

"Pay it no mind, really." Naruto insisted.

The kid finally spoke, "Still… thank you, sir." He said with a bow.

The blond chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm actually getting embarrassed, so please drop it. I'm happy with seeing you safe, that's more than enough for me. Besides, I think the fireworks are about to start in a few hours. You should get prepared to see them."

After that and a polite goodbye, everyone went on their way.

XXXXXX

"Hmph, this intruder… What threat does he pose?"

"His power is beyond limits for normal humans, yet it is greatly handicapped by the seal he carries."

"He defeated a god himself."

"And yet we still have more power than he could imagine."

"He is like a virus, his closeness to the girl we planned to use to find more proper pieces for our game is of great risk."

"And that shall be his downfall. We just need to adjust our plans."

"The girl thinks he could save her. Even if she doesn't know what he is, that tie she has to us is like a premonition of our own downfall."

"Enough! That boy isn't a threat to our plans; we have tried to find suitable suitors for the power that may bring things to an end for centuries!"

"And the goddess in him did the same, so we must be careful."

"And to that idea I had agreed the moment his triggered the chaos with his presence."

XXXXXX

Later, Naruto and Serah were finally walking back home, the girl with her own bag carried by her guardian and a smile on her face while Naruto just felt at ease with a small smirk as he walked with his little lady.

But soon she made a question, "Why do you still carry that sword?"

Naruto had the red sword, which had the name 'Blood Fang' written in italic letters on one side, hefted over his right shoulder with his hand holding it in the position one would hold a sword: with the blade where the thumb should be. The bouncer just looked at the weapon and shrugged, using the motion to lift with his other hand the bags with the present boxes for Claire, "Call it a secondary gift, Should Light really not like what I bought her then it'll be good to have something more up her alley." He then looked at the sword, "It may be a bit heavy for her, but I've heard those Guard Corps guys use some big swords."

Serah looked down, "I wish…" she whispered, before shaking her head and putting on a smile, "I wish she appreciates this for real, not like how she tries to hide her gratitude."

Naruto mockingly raised a brow, his smirk still plastered on his face, "Gratitude? Lightning? I think the only time she showed me gratitude was by giving me that cupcake for saving you. Who knows, maybe if I save your life a couple thousand more times she may actually give me a smile."

The pinkette giggled as she gave him a light punch on his shoulder, looking at him with a smile, "Lightning's good, Naruto, you know it. You've softened her a bit yourself." She raised a finger at him, "Think of it this way: she could have become a soldier not only to get money, but to be able to fight like you and protect both of us."

The blond chuckled, looking up into the sky as it started to get dark, "That's a nice thought… I just wish she would live a bit more. Being so serious all the time takes people to do nasty things."

Serah noted the bittersweet tone of his voice, but took it as the bouncer being worried for Claire, "Then let's do our best to give her the party she wants: something nice without much noise and with the people she cares about there to cheer her up."

Naruto could only look at the pinkette; she alone gave him more than enough reason to keep on living and fighting after everything that happened to him. "True…" he whispered casually, "After all, what kind of knight would I be if I didn't try to do my best for my princesses?"

He got another light punch that was more like a light tap, "Hey, I should be queen by now. I have grown, you know?"

A smirk came his way, "You may say that, but you're still a child. Falling in love so easily in a summer day out of a whim… Sometimes it's you who should wipe away your own tears."

Serah stuck her tongue out, "You still try too hard to play hardboiled cop." She then grinned, "But you are right…" she looked down, her arm moving to an arm-band Naruto hadn't paid much attention to these past days, shrugging it off as a new accessory. Just then, she gave him a wider, warmer smile, "I'll take care of myself sooner than later so you and Lightning don't get too worried."

Naruto noted she was straining her smile, but since he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, he patted her head and spoke to her with a caring and serious tone, "You know us, Serah, no matter what happens, we will be there to make sure you can smile."

"But…" she started, but had to swallow as she lowered her head again, "But what if… you can't?"

Naruto gripped his new sword tightly, "Then I'd find a way, even if I must crawl through all of Pulse to get to see you safe."

Serah clenched her new arm-band, her teeth clenched before she spoke, "And what if I were the enemy?" she finally asked in a whisper he didn't hear, shaking her head, "What if… No… I… Naruto…"

The blond let go of the bags and the sword and grabbed the girl by her shoulders, making her look into his eyes, "Serah, what's wrong?" But instead of answering, the girl sobbed, and Naruto felt her hot tears rolling out, staining his sleeves as she finally let her emotions out.

"I'm sorry… I wanted to enjoy the time I had by acting normal but… I… I would only end up hurting you more…" She stepped back and, after looking around to make sure no-one else was around, she moved her hand to the arm-band… but soon lowered it, "I'm… I'll be just a burden to you in the end."

Naruto didn't even waste a second to reply, "No, you're not!" Serah looked at him in shock, expecting him to be in denial as he looked at her with his expression being one of… care? "You're Serah Farron!" he shouted, and before the girl knew it, she was held in a warm hug by the man who wore his heart in his sleeve, "You're the first person to give me something I never thought existed, and I will be your knight, ok?"

Serah shook her head, "Naruto, you do-"

He stopped her with a finger on her lips, "No, it's you who doesn't understand. Serah, you're really important to me. You and Lightning gave me a home, gave me warmth, gave me kindness… You two are the first persons who acted that way to me while I was just a complete stranger. You didn't wait a second to get to know me, you took me in… You…" And Serah finally saw them, her knight's eyes looking at her as if his life depended on her. And he forced himself to chuckle, "Damn it… I hate getting all sappy… So, just don't think of yourself that badly ever again, please? You'd make me feel worse than you are right now."

His warm if still forced smile, the warmth of his words, the sway he just seemed so devastated to see her sad just made Serah nod and smile at him, "Then… I will count on you." She smiled, her warmth back, "You are my knight, so I'll count on you when I need you. But when you need me, I will do my best to guide you… Mostly so you can see Light smile."

He chuckled at her joke, "Good to have you back, Serah."

Then, he got a nice surprise when she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, "That's for the previous hug… Thanks, I needed it." She then walked forward back home, leaving Naruto to let out another chuckle. "Hey, Naruto, I'm going to make a wish at the fireworks tonight." She said with a cheerful grin, "I will wish… for you and Light to be happy."

"That girl's going to be my end." He said as he pulled a cigarette. A smile came to his face as he stared at the cancer stick and then flicked it into a garbage bin, "Or maybe she does guide me to be better."

That wasn't such a bad thought for him as he followed his little lady, even though people would try to test it and his temper.

XXXXXX

Later that night, a tired sigh escaped a certain pinkette. Claire, or better known as Lightning or Light for her friends, looked at the fireworks covering her home in their light. She had grown rather well, and looked like a more mature version of Serah, in physique, mostly height and her three sizes, and the fact her face was sterner. She was currently in her Guard Corps uniform, with her hair beneath a cap and her long locks falling over one of her shoulders. Her blue eyes stared at the fireworks as she felt just… worried.

"Is everything all right, Farron?" A tubby man in a higher ranked uniform asked.

"Oh, Amodar, sir… I'm sorry, I got lost for a moment since nothing's happening and-"

"Relax, Farron. I can see you're worried." Her superior said calmly as he patted her shoulder, "What is in your mind? I do believe you have tomorrow off, and I even told you that I'd put more than good words for you to get advanced training. People would normally lighten up." He said, trying to make a bad joke about her name on purpose.

She sighed, "I appreciate it, but… Sorry, it is nothing."

The man looked at the fireworks, "Listen, you can't keep everything bottled up. There'll be people who won't let you all alone no matter how hard you try." He said and turned to look at the people walking around, "I believe you said there are two people who may want a word with you by now."

Lightning sighed and turned to the fireworks, "I… know something is up, sir." She admitted.

Amodar listened, "What could be wrong with those two?" He asked, knowing who she wrote to after asking in the past, "They seem really pleased to finally see you."

She shook her head, "It's not that, but… I have talked to my sister via letters, and even the guy who is with her has sent me some, but these past days, my sister seems to have grown distant."

Amodar raised a brow, "Is it a man?"

She gritted her teeth for an instance but forced herself to calm down before her boss, "No, sir. At least, I hope not." She added the last five words under her breath, because if Naruto was that man then… She shook her head, "I fear that something is up with my sister. She's not the kind to want to see others in pain, but she'll go above and beyond to keep her own pain to herself."

"Do you care about her?" her boss asked. She just nodded, to which he smiled, "Then you'll do whatever it takes for her sake, right? You should trust in yourself more. If she's really that important to you, you need to trust in the fact you'll do everything to keep her safe. And, if what you told me is right, you know there's someone else who'd do the same."

She had to nod, "He is… full of surprises."

Amodar smiled, "So… this Naruto… is he your boyfriend?"

The hue of pink on the young woman's face matched her hair, "Sir!"

The man laughed, "Calm down, Farron, I'm just pulling your leg! Hahaha!" he calmed down just as the woman was about to walk away, "But in all seriousness, you should try to find someone. You may still be young, but you shouldn't be such a loner. Besides, that'd give some of the other soldiers and even the recruits a reason to shut up about you."

Lightning growled at the idea of men drooling after her, "What did they say exactly?"

Amodar kept his warm smile, "The usual, that one female soldier needs to find a date to lose her scowl."

Lightning sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. However, she did look forward to see her sister back home. Naruto was another case, she just wished he stopped his hardboiled act for one night. However, she had to admit the blond had become a part of the family by putting most of the money for their living, and by caring for them. That, and he really tried hard to do something good for others.

And… she just found him walking around, followed by Serah. Her boss smiled at her, "Go, nothing's going to happen soon in this festival. I had planned to tell you about the officer training tonight, but I thought you needed something to cheer you up this morning. Just go and enjoy yourself, Farron, for your sake." He said with a warm smile.

She nodded and walked after the duo, following them to Lebreau's café. The brunette was behind the bar, serving drinks, and both Naruto and Serah took a stool each at one side. On the other side was a woman with dark and brown-tipped feathery locks, a nice tan, and a blue set of robes around her body acting as a dress, with a black training bra covering her chest and a sash on her waist. This woman looked at the soldier woman for a moment, and Lightning couldn't say she liked her gaze on her before it was turned to Serah.

But before the pinkette could walk to this woman, someone hugged her from behind, "Light!" It was Serah, smiling as usual when she was around. She turned to find the raven haired woman… but she was gone.

Naruto appeared then, chuckling as he scratched the back of his head, "You're back earlier than we expected."

Lightning turned around and pushed herself off her sister's hug, not being one for much affection, even though she desired nothing more but to hug her petite little sister. "You've grown a lot, Serah." She then gave the bouncer a stern glance, "And I hope you've kept her away from danger like you've told me so far."

He grinned, "How else could I face you? I promised to be the little lady's knight, didn't I?"

Light shook her head, "You haven't changed a bit."

Serah pushed her sister to the blond, "Come on, don't be like that and hug each other."

The two blushed, though Lightning did so more in irritation than Naruto who actually felt embarrassed even as he forced a smile, "Well… That's a bit…" Serah silenced him as she pushed the two against each other.

Lightning didn't sigh, but she did let out a breath that seemed to be mixed with a groan, "Don't say a word." She threatened as she forced her arms up and gave the blond a hug. "I'm off duty, so for now I'm another civilian." He hugged back, and was soon holding air when she pulled back with her face moved away from anyone's view.

He chuckled sheepishly, "Still with the tough act, it seems. Well, you wouldn't be the Light we knew if you changed that."

Lightning gave him her ever stoic look, "I did it because you kept Serah safe while I was away. Think of it as my thanks and don't try to abuse it."

Of course he would, "Oh, and I was hoping for a kiss."

Lightning felt tempted to tell him some unsavory words about how he'd need far more to even get a chance in Hell with her, but halted when remembering she was in a public area and that people were watching. She limited herself to brood and speak in her own disinterested way, "Keep dreaming."

Kaguya cackled, "**This is what I like about her, she is smart enough to know that you aren't worth the effort.**"

Naruto inwardly groaned, '_Love you too._' he said, his sarcasm thicker than a vault's door.

The next thing they knew, Serah was hugging her two most beloved ones with a smile, "Come on. You have to tell us how everything was back there at the Guard Corps, Light." She said as she moved them to the counter so they could sit down.

"What do you want to know?" Lightning asked.

Naruto went all out, "Have you finally got a boyfriend?"

She glared at him for a second, "No, why would I need someone to slow me down?"

Serah pouted, "Sis, at this rate you're going to be alone like Naruto."

"Hey!" the blond cried offended.

Lightning game a ghost of a smirk, "True, but I could end up with someone like Naruto." Said blond gave her a deadpan stare.

Serah smiled at that, "It'd probably be good, he could help you lighten up."

Naruto saw his chance to return the jab as he hooked his thumb at Lightning, "Six years with her say otherwise, little lady."

Lightning moved down his hand, "And I'd prefer someone who is more than a half-boiled detective cliché."

Naruto simply grabbed a glass, a cup with ice cold lemonade and the stylish straw Serah gave him, and held it up like he was in a 50s detective flick, "I'd rather think of myself as someone searching for that elusive and ever mysterious thing called love, my princess." And he took a sip of his drink through the straw, making his hardboiled act as hard as a marshmallow.

The elder pinkette groaned at the cheesiness of his line while the youngest chuckled. The other customers looked on with several degrees of amused smiles at the two dorks and the soldier they pestered.

If he could make every moment of his life like this, Naruto would be happy. Both he and Lightning could tell something was off with Serah. The girl had pushed them together for a hug and wanted nothing more than to see them happy.

It was obvious to see that her smile was trying to hide her tears.

**XXXXXX**

**And that's my rap! I hope you liked it!**

**Yeah, Serah is being rather selfish here trying to keep her pain to herself to not bother her guardians, but we've seen it happen in the game. I got to admire she doesn't want others to be hurt because of her, but her guardians, her knight and sister, will still do whatever is needed to keep her safe.  
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**Also, I apologize if the rant at the beggining was too much but I really needed that out. Sorry for the dirty images I have implanted in your minds.**

**Now, a few things: I've made clear references to franchises out there, some not as subtle as Naruto's new weapon, but I was hoping to see someone get them.**

**For example, Don Corneo and the Honeybee Club are from Final Fantasy 7. Only that Don Corneo is twice a massive coward there yet dares to try to spend a night with Tifa or Aerith while he's not even able to come up with the fingernail of the kind of man that'd be manly enough to be with the likes of Tifa, one of gaming's most badass girls whose hardcore martial arts still amaze me… I still felt that Advent Children tried hard to get me to hate the bastard who just showed up out of nowhere and beat her up, and it succeeded.**

**Back on a happier note, the Honeybee Club is based on the Honeybee Inn, a place in Final Fantasy 7 which insides will make you question why hasn't Square Enix tried to blow our minds like that in the next games. I mean, sure, in Final Fantasy 8 we got the dirty magazines, but this is Square Enix, they could pull off a nice hot spring scene with the likes of Lulu, Quistis, and even Lightning for the fans. Am I right, bros?**

**However, the straw Naruto has that Serah gave him is based off the straw in the anime Afro Samurai, in which the titular character enjoys a cold glass of lemonade with his pimping straw. As for the clothes, I actually took inspiration from one of my favorite videogame franchises: Yakuza, mostly known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan, in which the characters dress mostly in colorful and flashy disco suits while beating each other with bicycles, and then stomping the poor bastards's face while they're on the ground to look at them with a really stern face that'd make Lightning feel envious.**

**But I got a few ideas for an Omake… Naruto and Kaguya included in Dissidia. I don't know how long this fic will get, but for now here are the lines they'd have if they were characters in the game.**

+**Naruto**:

-**Facing him**; he has Blood Fang hefted on his right shoulder while giving the enemy his back, then turns around, twirling the sword in his hand as he puts his free hand into his pants pocket, stopping as he give his enemy a smirk with his sword now at his side in an inverted grip.

WoL: Gotta fight for our ladies, huh?

Garland: Your sense of fun just bores me.

Firion: A peaceful world? Count me in.

Emperor: I bow only to one little lady.

OK: Keep your heart still; it'll do you good in battle.

CoD: Would you let what you are just define you?

Cecil: I wish I had met more soldiers like you.

Golbez: You're too kind to be on Chaos' side.

Kain: I'll warn you, hunter, I bite.

Bartz: Instead of copying me, fight me like yourself.

Exdeath: A void world? Sorry, that's not my style.

Gilgamesh: You just ain't right in the head, huh?

Terra: You have the strength, stand for yourself.

Kefka: Jokes like yours get tiring before the punchline.

Cloud: I met a demon with a sword like that.

Sephiroth: Another blind traitor. Hmph, this'll be good.

Tifa: That strength and body, is your last name Senju?

Squall: Focus on what you have, not what you lost.

Ultimecia: The future is for everyone to craft.

Laguna: Never lose sight of what you fight for.

Zidane: You know how to deal with moody girls?

Kuja: My tricks aren't for theatrics, they're for destruction.

Tidus: Stories are about more than one person.

Jecht: We all have a monster inside to protect others.

Yuna: Your death shouldn't be meaningless!

Shantotto: Arrogant people make easy targets.

Prische: I'll give you a cupcake if you behave.

Vaan: The skies, huh? Been there, done that.

Gabranth: You're no judge, just a butcher.

Lightning: We better not make Serah cry.

Kaguya: Love is something you need to learn, badly.

Self: Time to put my past behind me.

Feral Chaos: I shall erase yesterday's hatred!

-**Faced by the others**; Naruto walks forward with his left hand in his pants pocket, and his right hand at his side holding Blood Fang in an inverted grip.

WoL: To turn darkness into light, let me see it.

Garland: Fights, need no reason, only will.

Firion: Your skills are so simple they're scary.

Emperor: A pitiful servant, soon to fall on his knees.

OK: Let's see if you can plan a way out of this.

CoD: The power to be one with the world, interesting.

Cecil: You walk with such confidence I feel envious.

Golbez: To overcome one's darkness, truly admirable.

Kain: Even if you call the wind, the skies are my domain.

Bartz: There's a gentle wind around you, it's nice.

Exdeath: Defy fate if you want, all ends in the Void.

Gilgamesh: You shall teach me the secret of the wind blades.

Terra: So even destruction can save others?

Kefka: Destruction wasted on prolonging the inevitable? Pathetic!

Cloud: Answers aren't as easy as you make them be.

Sephiroth: I shall test my Muramasa's true power at last.

Tifa: I'm afraid I gotta see who the best fist fighter is.

Squall: At least you keep on fighting for what you believe in.

Ultimecia: You won't escape tomorrow's pain.

Laguna: Worrying about our little ladies, aren't we?

Zidane: I'll show you more than tricks for picking up girls.

Kuja: Let your rage grow and make a symphony of destruction.

Tidus: Sorry, but in this story I'm the star.

Jecht: Let's see how flashy you are.

Yuna: My home's worth risking my life for.

Shantotto: Gods? I'm afraid I'm beyond their league.

Prische: A good punch will make you look up to me.

Vaan: Ok, let's make this show fly!

Gabranth: Your existence is a threat, and I shall end it.

Lightning: Prove to me you can protect Serah.

Kaguya: Let's see how you enjoy being chained to me.

-Victory quotes (Pushes up his shades and hefts Blood Fang on his shoulder Sol Badguy style with a calm smirk):

"Am I getting old for this?"

"Got some blood flowing."

"Huh, that was fun."

+**Kaguya**:

-**Facing her**; she stands tall and proud as she flicks her long hair back, then stretches her arms to her side as bone spikes shoot out of her wrists for her to grab as swords, her hair flowing in the wind and ready to rip apart her enemies while a stoic stare makes them wary.

WoL: Your goddess is not ruthless enough.

Garland: Taking gloating fools like you down is exhilarating.

Firion: I shall make a perfect world.

Emperor: I ruled over fools like you.

OK: Another cute blond kid after me?

CoD: It seems we're doomed to fight kids.

Cecil: The bonds of family are the ones to hurt most.

Golbez: The moon and Earth are mine to command.

Kain: Even the skies won't let you escape me.

Bartz: Another pitiful copycat to fall before me.

Exdeath: I'll turn your dreamed Void into a nightmare.

Gilgamesh: Seems more ridiculous fools roam around.

Terra: Your power is a blessing to change the world.

Kefka: To think a destroyer would be just a buffoon.

Cloud: A brooding blond? Tch, you just anger me.

Sephiroth: Had only my sons been that devoted to me.

Tifa: Another hussy with punches. I despise your kind.

Squall: That frown reminds me of a foolish, selfish traitor.

Ultimecia: I also tire of brooding mindless men.

Laguna: Why is it always cheerful fools facing me?

Zidane: My heart belonged to a man once, he's dead.

Kuja: I search control, not needless theatrics.

Tidus: I'll teach you discipline like your father should.

Jecht: Your son needs to know his place down below others.

Yuna: So devoted and yet so blind.

Shantotto: Allow me to shatter your delusions of grandeur.

Prische: I'm much older than you, little girl.

Vaan: Your arrogance has grown tiring like another idiot's!

Gabranth: The world is mine to judge.

Lightning: He'd fight for you, but no more.

Self: Another trickery of yours, Naruto?

Feral Chaos: You thought I'd follow a weaker god?

-**Faced by others**; Kaguya floats forward with her arms down clutching the bone spikes that she uses as weapons while her hair flows like a demon's tails.

WoL: At least Cosmos isn't heartless.

Garland: For great battles I'd destroy nature itself!

Firion: I'd never pray to an oppressor!

Emperor: To be chained to a mere peasant, how pathetic.

OK: How can a mother lose her heart?

CoD: That fool of yours has made you weak.

Cecil: I pray for you to find your lost heart.

Golbez: Defeat humbled you, treasure your second chance.

Kain: My spear shall crush your dead heart.

Bartz: To think Naruto seemed fond of you.

Exdeath: You'll be a great tribute to the Void.

Gilgamesh: I shall make a nice vest out of your hair!

Terra: Won't you listen to HIS voice for your sake?

Kefka: Yet more high and mighty fools for me to backstab!

Cloud: At least you look better than JENOVA.

Sephiroth: You remind me of Mother.

Tifa: Our home isn't yours to take!

Squall: Not another witch.

Ultimecia: We're both victims of time, it seems.

Laguna: Geesh, you'll scare anyone wanting to date you.

Zidane: Naruto doesn't have it so bad.

Kuja: Your "efficiency" is much too boring.

Tidus: Time to show you why I'm an ace.

Jecht: Having kids around is not easy, huh?

Yuna: You won't use another's life for peace.

Shantotto: A goddess? And here I am without my victory make-up.

Prische: I'll teach you some manners... hag!

Vaan: Wait, just how old are you, lady?!

Gabranth: You're not above judgment.

Lightning: HE thinks you're worth fighting for? Gimme a break.

-Victory quotes (Holds her right cheek with a hand, smiling pleasantly as her kimono flows in the wind):

"You dared attack ME?"

"Welcome to endless sleep."

"Your dreams are mine to command."

**Hope you enjoyed them, I'm most likely to make short one-shots with Naruto and Kaguya messing with the Dissidia cast.**

**Swordslinger out!**


	3. Chapter 3

I OWN NOTHING

Whether it is laughable or impossible, making good stories for me to enjoy keeps moving me forward, the fact I have people following me and enjoying them is just a bonus.

**XXXXXX**

Not a hero

Two loud pops, and Lightning's eyes snapped open as two figures stood by her side, one with his red trench coat resting on his chair. They held bright and colorful cones, pulling a string out of the tip of each, which caused confetti to fly out with a pop and cover her hair in bits of paper and plastic in curls. She blew one of the plastic bits that hung from her hair in between her eyes and sourly stared at the cake before her, which happened to be her favorite kind, and was grateful no paper got into it. What did make her particular brand of brooding a bit darker was the fact that while only Serah and Naruto were at home instead of the Honeybee Inn or with some punk brought because of a crush, she didn't like the way they smiled happily as she got showered with confetti.

"I fear to say you had this planned." She said as she shook her hair to let the paper fall off. She was now clad in more casual, if still outstanding clothes: a white vest, shorts, boots, and a red cape hanging behind her left shoulder.

Her cheerful duo, currently standing at her side while she sat before the cake, threw the cones aside, "Come on, Sis, the rest of your birthday will be spent like you want it, ok? Just let us try something new to see if we can cheer you up." Serah said with that damn smile her big sister couldn't say no to.

Naruto added another name to the list of things to not have around Lightning, and spoke up, "Or you could try to smile and enjoy yourself, you know. And hey, if it turns out you're actually allergic to happiness it'd give us a reason to stop."

Lightning shot him a glare but decided to calm down in the end, "So, what did you get me?"

As usual, Naruto's gift came first. Serah's gifts usually softened the woman, so it was best to give Lightning the bad news before trying to have her measure all the negatives with the good news. The woman opened the box and raised a brow at the tasteful and modest white dress with the pink sash that matched her hair. It had no sleeves and had some frills but not in a way that'd be annoying.

But, "It's not really my thing to wear a dre-" she yelped when Serah elbowed her, "What?"

"Sis, that dress is pretty. Don't deny it and put it on." The little girl said.

Naruto smiled as if he won the lottery, "Ok, I swear I didn't plan this, mainly because I don't think it would have come out this well."

Lightning was milliseconds from shoving the dress down his throat but settled for huffing, closing her eyes, and begrudgingly pull out the dress from the box. Minutes later, Naruto was ready with a camera and Serah was by his side smiling excitedly. She had been helped by the blond to move the furniture around so Lightning had more space to walk in. And when Lightning came back, they couldn't believe how pretty she looked. The dress hugged the young woman's chest, but in a moderate manner, pushing it up to be sensual but with no openings to be sexual about it. That pink sash hung around her waist from one hip which gave something to justify looking at the curves of her hips, and Naruto did notice that the skirt would show the pinkette's long, toned and shapely legs so damn better than he would have expected for a summer dress.

Their mouths went dry, and when the young woman - whose face started to resemble her hair with her blush - cleared her throat, they snapped back to reality, "Sis, you look amazing!" Serah said as she raced forward and held her sister's right arm in hers, happily clutching her sister's limb with a smile aimed at the cameraman.

Naruto grinned and soon took the picture, "Nice, this one's definitely going to my wallet." He said with a grin. Lightning just huffed and played along to get this over with.

The wallet he was talking about had been a gift from Serah, a simple object but with a special room for pictures to display. He had several of himself and the sisters in the six years he and the sisters had spent together, some of the birthdays they spent together, and others of them enjoying the city they lived in.

One of the pictures had him in a pair of orange swimming trunks with an opened red Hawaiian shirt, lying down on top of a towel with Serah sitting at his side in a one piece blue bikini, which had a large oval shaped hole on her stomach to show her bellybutton. Lightning, who had been in a pair of white swimming shorts and a red bikini top, had taken the picture. Then Serah took a picture of the two standing on the water, with the waves reaching above Naruto's waist while Lightning's chest made it kind of hard to focus on anything else with how her flesh pounds floated barely above the water level. If he had to be honest, the woman had grown quite... generously, the Guard Corps uniform and the vest she wore hid that very well.

Once the flash died, Serah raced to the blond and put her hands on his back, pushing him just above the waist to the young soldier woman. Lightning closed her eyes and breathed evenly to try to get rid of her embarrassment, her arms crossed due to her trying hard to control herself. Naruto, actually nervous, chuckled and scratched the back of his head as he turned to his little lady with the camera.

"Smile and hug you two, just as if you were a happy couple." Serah said with a smile too innocent to be truthful. They turned to each other and, just as they were about to say something with their fingers pointing the other, Serah took the picture with a laugh, "You guys make it so easy!"

Naruto had to let out a small laugh, "Hehehe... You were always more than met the eye, Serah. But trying to set Lightning and I up? I thought you knew me better." He got elbowed by the elder pinkette. "Ouch! See, little lady? I'd go with a less violent damsel for poor little, loveable and handsome me."

"Save your bad jokes for later." The brooding woman said as she walked back to the cake, "So, what did you get me, Serah?" She asked once seated before the cake, her eyes closed as she tried to regain her cool.

Serah's smile fell a bit, and both her sister and her self-proclaimed bodyguard noticed it, for they knew it wasn't the first time her smile had carried pain, "I got you something to help you." The girl said as she showed Lightning the box.

What Lightning pulled out made Naruto instinctively take one step back, away from the elder sister. It was a switchblade, a compact combat knife that Lightning was mesmerized if the way she moved it in her hands, examining it like an archeologist with a piece of lost history, said anything. Naruto had Blood Fang hidden under a couch to give it to the young woman in case the dress he bought didn't satisfy her, but for now it seemed that he'd have to keep it hidden.

He whispered to the younger pinkette, "You could've told me that you had bought her a knife. I thought you got her equipment to maintain her gun-blade."

She shrugged, "You didn't ask."

He sighed and then, after noticing the empty space in the large table and the silence, spoke up, "So... what do we do in a Lightning Style Birthday?" He was genuinely confused as to how a birthday this silent could be enjoyed. Well, he had had his fair share of lonely birthdays until the sisters came to is life. But Lightning didn't seem like much of a fun loving person.

The young woman calmly replied, "We just eat the cake and enjoy the evening peacefully."

"You mean to get bored to death?" Naruto shot her.

"Did you expect me to go to a hostess club with my sister and pay girls to clinch to our bodies?" she shot back.

Naruto put a hand to his chin, "Well..." he got elbowed by both sisters, Serah didn't use any force at all while Lightning did mean to hurt him if only the bare minimum, "Hey, I was just going to make a joke." But in all honesty, that simple thought did give him much to think about.

"Make a joke like that, and you're out of this house." Lightning said and stared at the cake before her, complete with candles, "Now… do I really must do this?"

Naruto shrugged, "Truth be told, every time the fireworks from the festival show us the pretty lights, I have only one wish: to see you try to enjoy something silly." He then looked up briefly, "Well, that's part one of my wish for every year, the second is to have Serah remain as cute as ever."

Kaguya groaned in her cage, "**You're so hammy and cheesy I just need bread to call you a sandwich.**"

Outside the mental connection, the glare Lightning shot him was meant to kill, but he easily destroyed its lethal powers with a smile. Serah giggled but with a hand near her mouth, trying to conceal her blush, "I actually wish the same, along seeing Naruto with a good girl." She would never give any specific details on what kind of girl she wanted with Naruto, if you get my meaning, readers.

Lighting decided to amuse them, "I wish for Serah to be safe, and for you to act like the adult you're supposed to be, Naruto. And no, not by imitating a detective from a cheap hard-boiled movie."

The blond smiled warmly at her, his best way to counter her cold attitude, "I'd rather be a kid inside as best I can even if the world turns cold like your eyes."

Serah added in her two cents, "Or if it becomes as fierce as your eyebrows when you narrow your eyes."

Naruto laughed out loud, "Ahahaha! Good one, little lady! You got the ice queen good!"

Lightning groaned, "Wasn't this supposed to be the party where you annoyed me less?"

"We're family, Claire. We're supposed to do this to show we care." Serah shot back.

Naruto smiled, "Family… Yeah, that sounds like something we could be." He said with a foxy grin, though in his head Serah's words managed to warm him more than anything. But then he just had to add, "Then again, I still fear that'd be too cheerful, joyful and good-spirited for Light to handle. Too much happiness may be bad for her healthy brooding."

Lightning growled at him, actually baring her teeth at him. And was it his imagination or did he see fangs? "Just…" she let out a breath and pulled out a fork, "Enjoy the cake." She finished with a bite.

Kaguya spoke up, "**You know she's only letting you live because she doesn't want her sister to be a murder witness.**"

He inwardly chuckled as he grabbed his own slice of cake and served Serah one, '_That's why I keep Serah by my side; she's the only one able to tame the lioness known as Claire Farron... and she laughs at my jokes._'

The rabbit goddess face-palmed, "**Why are we women always surrounded by fools like you?**"

Then the youngest pinkette went to the kitchen, the two elder residents of the house raised a brow, and when she came back the oldest smiled at what was in her hands, "I made a promise, after all." Serah said as she handed Naruto a large steaming bowl of delicious noodles.

The blond didn't take much in clasping his hands in glee and dig in, making Lightning groan, "Well, at least that'll keep him quiet, for a while." She took another bite of her cake in peace.

Serah smiled brightly, "If everything's to your liking, I think I'll go to sleep now." She said and winked at them. "Have fun!" with those words coming out of her mouth like a song, her guardians blushed.

Once she was gone, Naruto sighed, "You really don't think she's been acting weird because she wants to hook us up, do you?"

Lightning put down her plate, "No, something is up. Besides, I have better standards." She said, sending him a side-glare from his previous jokes.

Naruto ignored her comment and leaned back on his chair, "Serah's been acting forcefully cheerful, and you know it." He stood up, "We must talk to her. She's not telling us a thing."

Lightning stood up as well, "It won't be easy. Serah has always tried hard to be good and cheerful." She gripped her biceps, "She's so selfish, keeping everything bottled up and not letting others help her."

The blond patted the elder pinkette's head, "You're not exactly free of guilt." He said and moved forward, speaking before Lightning could, "You've tried too hard to grow up, and I acted so much as a goof, now she doesn't know how else to deal with her problems but smiling and trying to keep things to herself."

Lightning simply moved forward, "This birthday's already turning sour."

They were about to go to Serah's room, when the sound of a large vehicle moving through the skies neared the house, just outside. The two guardians looked at each other in shock, but their eyes snapped wide open when they heard the loud cry of a voice Naruto was acquainted with, "Serah, your hero is here!"

The two rushed to Serah's room, finding her out the window and with a backpack filled with anything she could need, a foot on the edge of the window, and a shocked look on her face, "Snow, I told you to be-" she gasped the moment her door was swung open and in came Naruto and Lightning, the first with his fists up and the latter with her gun-blade ready, "-quiet…"

"Serah…" Lightning growled, her tone saying she wanted answers and that she wanted them now.

The girl looked at them, hurt all over her face… and then she jumped. The girl's guardians tried to reach her, only to see the girl riding on a large vehicle which controls were held by none other than Snow Villiers. Naruto's response was instantaneous, he snapped, "Villiers, what do you think you're doing?!" he shouted at the man, swinging a fist on the window to take some of his anger out.

Kaguya's eyes widened, she could only think of this as something bad, '**For Naruto to call someone by their last name, he must be extremely mad.**'

And the cap wearing blond just grinned at the snappy dressed one, "Oh, it's you, Naruto." He gave the bouncer a salute, "Don't worry, Serah's in good hands. After all, she asked me for help so you don't have to worry. I'll bring her back soon, I promise. I'm a hero, so believe in me." He gave a grin he thought was charming but that Lightning and even Naruto would describe only as smug.

Lightning shouted, "Serah, what're you even doing?! We're here for you, so tell us what's going on!"

The girl looked away and spoke to the rider, "Let's go."

Snow smirked, a blush on his face, "Sure thing, baby! This hero will keep you safe through this quest." He turned around and was about to leave, but someone had other plans.

"Not if I can help it!" Naruto exclaimed as he slammed one foot on the window's frame and jumped at the bike. He tried to reach it but the moment Snow saw him the leader of NORA revved up his bike and was flying away, leaving Naruto's hands inches from reaching Serah.

In that instant, he saw her face as the flying bike turned around. He saw and felt her emotions. Sorrow, despair, fear, and pain, her eyes showed all of these emotions while deep in her, in her very essence, Naruto could feel something off. Deep down, Serah didn't want to do this, to leave him and Lightning behind, but he could still tell there was something more.

Lightning watched as Naruto landed on the ground, kneeling from the impact as Snow and Serah flew off. She cursed and punched the wall nearest to her so hard she put a dent in it. "Serah, please be safe." She jumped down and helped Naruto up, "We're going after them."

Naruto slammed his fist into his palm, "There's something wrong." He said, gripping and crushing his fist to calm himself even if it meant with pain.

Lightning snapped, "You mean the fact my sister escaped with some idiot after fooling us?! You think I'm stupid enough to not see that?!"

Naruto sighed, knowing that Lightning would always be mad if Serah was in danger, "Not that." He said to calm her down, "Serah… She's not doing this out of her own free will. There's something forcing her to do this and not tell us. Whether it is because she wants us out or someone or something tells her to keep us out, this must be big."

Lightning gripped her biceps, gritting her teeth, "You think it's Snow? If he is forcing her to do this, so help me I'll-"

Naruto waved dismissively, "Villiers' brain is made out of frozen stupid. That is putting it lightly. I know people like him; he doesn't think, he just acts on impulse. Unless he grows up, that'll end up biting him in the ass, and now you've seen he hasn't matured at all."

The pinkette nodded, "So what is making Serah follow that idiot?"

"Beats me." Naruto said with a grunt of weariness, "But if it's making Serah believe we'd be in danger, then we need to get serious." He went back home, confusing Lightning.

"Where are you going?" she asked, but soon Naruto came out of the door with his suit once again complete with the tie straightened, and with a large cleaver held in an inverted grip on his right hand.

"I said this was serious, so I need something just in case. This actually was what I got you in case you didn't like your dress." The blond replied as he hefted Blood Fang on his shoulder. "We need to find them, Lebreau may as well have closed her place, so they must be hiding somewhere else or heading out."

Lightning nodded, "They won't be able to leave this place." She said and returned home.

Naruto raised a brow this time, "Wait, what you mean they won't be able to leave?" he asked as the pinkette walked in.

"PSICOM and the Guard Corps have this area locked tightly after some reports of l'Cie activity." She said solemnly, making Naruto's eyes widen.

"Y-You don't mean…" he started, knowing the implications already after spending six years in this world.

Lightning bit her lip briefly before speaking coldly, "If Serah is one… I will tear down PSICOM if I have to get her to safety, count on that." Naruto felt slightly sorry for the soldiers, just slightly. "We need to find them before PSICOM does and gets suspicious; if they do then it's all over."

"Do you really think it'd get that bad?" Naruto asked, but Lightning turned her gun-blade into its gun form to answer his question, "Never mind I asked."

Lightning replied, nonetheless, "If it gets down to it, Serah will never return to us unless we do something."

He nodded and they raced to Bodhum, trying to find the little lady they loved. "Then let's head over to Lebreau's, if they're not there, we at least may get a clue." And if they didn't, Naruto could still track them down using his old chakra sensorial skills. Lightning nodded and they didn't waste any more time to find Serah.

XXXXXX

"That child from another world, he will become a thorn on our side!"

"Relax, as I've said, all he will ever accomplish is bring our target closer to us. She's asked for the help of that idiot, all we have to do is wait for PSICOM to find her on their own and-"

"And he'll still follow her. I am telling you, this Naruto Uzumaki, this slayer of gods, is dangerous and a threat that should be taken out now."

"We shall do no such thing, not when he could serve us…"

"Explain."

"Simple, why put him against us when we can have him working for us… and his dreams?"

"You mean… Oh, I see… But are you sure it'll work?"

"It is in his nature, that world he comes from crafted him this way."

"And yet, he used the help of that goddess to kill someone he had until that point tried so desperately to see as a friend."

"In all honesty, that mere mortal was no friend if he was still willing to kill those willing to serve him."

"Sounds like you."

"Guilty as charged."

XXXXXX

At Lebreau's tourist attraction and Naruto's favorite lemonade making place, there was a loud crack from a door getting kicked down followed by a loud noise: "Villiers!" Naruto's voice echoed through the empty, dark café. Lightning walked right after him, not even bothering to mention the door his kick split in half since she had planned to use her gun-blade's ammo to do the same as Naruto's shoe.

She sighed in annoyance, "All of NORA must have fled by now."

"How do you know that name?" Naruto asked as he went to the cash register and opened it.

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the sight, "Serah mentioned it to me in one of her letters, but what she didn't mention was that you became a thief."

"Would you believe me if I said I am a ninja?" he asked half-jokingly. And before she could reply with one of her dry, cynical remarks, he raised a piece of paper, "Found it." He said as he closed the cash register, left the café, and walked to the nearest light source with Lightning close behind.

"What did you find?" she asked, tired of the silence.

Naruto grinned, "Lebreau is a smart girl, how else would NORA get weapons with just two kids and two meatheads?" he turned the piece of paper for Lightning to see, showing a list of names with phone numbers and, to her relief, addresses, "You know what they say, by every man's side there must be a woman calling the shots… or something like that."

Kaguya groaned to herself, feeling pain and something else, "**Ugh… I don't know if I should feel ashamed of such a cheesy phrase or slightly proud that he said something so nice for my gender…**"

Lightning was about to let out a ghost of a smirk when she noticed Naruto's name in the list too, "How did you know of this list, and how did you get in it?"

"It's her tab list." He said, that being almost self-explanatory. "Being a regular, I managed to pay most of my debts so she's never had to bother coming. I still keep a tab in case I ask for more than the average." He then looked at the entrance, "I do owe her a door now."

Lightning took the list from his hands, "She owes us answers about my sister's whereabouts."

Naruto rolled his eyes and followed her, silently whispering, "Typical thinking of yours: punch first, ask questions while punching."

"Then tell me if I should punch him or not." Lightning retorted with her ever present scowl staring at him in the eye.

Naruto shrugged, "In all honesty, I don't even need to think about it. The only thought I have is whether or not he's high or plain stupid."

Lightning raised a brow, "Are you serious?" She was ashamed to admit she could never figure out the blond, so it was hard to tell what was bullshit and what was the truth when all he said was out of a detective film.

He stared at her calmly, "I used to be that stupid as a kid, to be honest. But I had to grow up, even then I still didn't make choices that left me happy." He sighed and kept walking, "Lets avoid getting sappy. We need to find Serah and deal with whatever she's afraid of."

She nodded, albeit reluctantly. She had known Naruto for some time, allowed him to live at her home with Serah and her, and both sisters still didn't know what happened to get him bleeding and bruised in an alley. All they knew was that he had been attacked, his home had been burned to the ground, and he had stumbled upon them. He had explained some bits when they asked him, but it was never too informative. He'd comment that he got into a fight with a punk and that it escalated to the point he had to see his house burn. At times it seemed like he changed the story by saying it had been him trying to stop a fight he never wanted but still desired and even needed help with. One time he mentioned that it was a meaningless fight that got out of hand because of the punk not letting go of the past or his petty hatred.

But what she knew was that despite everything that had turned Naruto into this man who tried to live a happy life with a serious case of denial to the point he seemed delusional, he wanted to protect Serah. There was no doubt in that. She had given him everything she could, and he had been unable to take advantage of that, or rather he would never take advantage. He just smiled at the little pinkette and did his best to return her kindness. And now, here he was, with a sword in hand and ready to battle some punks for her.

However, as they got near Snow's house they found some unwanted company at the door, PSICOM. In one instant, Serah's guardians dashed to a bush and hid to look as the soldiers with gas masks and assault rifles inspected and entered the place. They all looked the same, with heavy armor, a freaky appearance, and glowing orange lenses on their masks. Naruto knew them from Lightning's words and how she described them and compared their job to hers. All he knew was that Lightning had little to no respect for them unless they were elite, then she'd be wary. But the pink haired young woman was herself, so she only had cynical observations for the big wigs who just sat on their big fat asses old day or the glorified thugs that got hired for the lesser jobs.

"They're rookies, that grip on their guns is too loose." Lightning whispered as she and Naruto inspected them.

The blond nodded, "They certainly aren't here to join NORA. So, what's our plan? Do we bribe them with cake, tell them we're part of a surprise birthday party for Villiers, or sneak around?"

Lightning groaned, "Even if we sneak around, they could find us. And when they're done with their investigation, they certainly won't leave clues to Serah if they think she or Snow are l'Cie." She then growled, "Damn it, why now of all times did PSICOM had to come here? I know they hunt for l'Cie but this is ridiculous."

Naruto sighed, "Call them however you want, but people will always do the stupidest things when told they're the right thing." He said that from experience… and it gave him something: "I got a stupid idea." The said truthfully. "It may work or get me killed, but it should get you inside to find clues of Serah's whereabouts."

Lightning sighed, "It may beat mine, share it." He grinned, pulled off his trench coat and turned it around to use the black underside, buttoned it up, and pulled up the collar to hide his face. Lightning raised a brow at the cheap disguise, but before she could say a thing he was gone.

"Who's there?!" one soldier asked at the dark figure.

Soon all the assault rifles were aimed at the bouncer. The soldiers stared at the bouncer in the fancy clothes and kept their guns ready at the sight of the large cleaver in his hand. Naruto ignored that and simply stood up to the PSICOM soldiers, with a few words for them, "Now, I know what you're thinking: _Who's this guy? What's he doing here? Where did he get that trench coat? It's absolutely fabulous_. But I'll get to the point and start to beat you up." He slammed his fist into his palm without a care in the world despite the soldiers aiming their guns at him.

Lightning could only gape at that… and even more when the blond dashed forward and before the soldiers knew it his right fist broke through one of their masks, knocking the PSICOM soldier down with a bloody nose. "Shit! Shoot him!" one cried and started to open fire, but Naruto jumped at him, rolled on the ground to avoid the bullets by turning himself into a ball, and when his feet touched the ground again he jumped at the soldier with a powerful upper-cut that sent him flying flat on his back.

Lightning raced forward, her shock coming out in her voice, "Are you out of your mind?!" she asked, angry for the first time in her life.

He raised his hands defensively, "I told you it was a stupid idea. However, I knocked them out before they could see much of my face or recognize me." He put his trench coat back the way he liked it. "Besides, how many blond guys are around this place and use punches only to fight?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Lightning's eyes lighted up, "You said it was a stupid idea… But now you will have PSICOM after Snow, not Serah."

"Sadly, it's still not a bright idea." Naruto replied as he leaned down to observe the soldier's helmet and the small communication device it had, "It'll allow us to follow these PSICOM goons to Snow, from there we have to snatch Serah from him. But our best option should be to find her before the soldiers find either of them."

Lightning raised a brow, "For a plan that came out of the blue, you sure have thought it well." She meant it, she wanted Snow to suffer, even if a little bit, and have him arrested for attacking PSICOM soldiers seemed like a slap on the wrist for the pinkette, but still felt satisfying to think about it.

He scratched his nose in a mixture of embarrassment and pride, "Would you believe that I used to fool super powered ninjas with plans I always made in the middle of the battle?" he asked with an inner grin, '_Namely Zabuza, Kiba, Neji, and the list still goes on._'

Her blank look killed his good mood, "Forget I said anything." She then moved to the house and, like Naruto at Lebreau's, kicked the door open, "Now let's find this idiot."

"Can do." Naruto replied as he finished fumbling with the helmet and pulled out an ear-piece. The soldier woman raised a brow as Naruto then put a hand to his throat and cleared it, "Let's see… Ah… Ah… Oh…" and then, Lightning's eyes snapped wide open when she noticed how his voice changed. In one second, he got had the same voice as the soldier he just knocked out, and with a grin turned on the ear-piece.

"_This is command, report._" A voice said on the other end, making the bouncer grin.

"We've encountered hostiles." Naruto said in the soldier's voice, "We believe it's one Snow Villiers. We arrived at his place and got attacked by him. I've seen him dragging a young girl, about eighteen, with pink hair. She didn't seem willing to go with him, so perhaps she's a hostage."

"_Copy that. Should you find this Villiers, apprehend him. He needs to be interrogated. Not only that, but if you find the girl-_"

"Excuse me, sir." Naruto cut off the man, "The girl seems to be a hostage. She may not have shown resistance when Villiers dragged her, but she definitely didn't look pleased. That man could be doing horrible things to her. Can you live with a clean conscience if we don't set her free? If we let her lose her innocence because someone… some punk like him did unimaginable things to her." He mentally added, '_I know I will kill him if he's done anything like that._'

The voice sighed, "_I get you, soldier, but that girl's suspected as a l'Cie. Even if that Villiers were taking advantage of her, we-_"

"You mean she is one?!" Naruto asked in shock, almost dropping his fake voice.

The superior sighed, "_Soldier, you got to stop interrupting me. And, sadly, yes. It is believed she is a threat. Don't ask me, I'm not the one giving the orders, it's Nabaat._"

Naruto put his hand on the mouth-piece and spoke to the pinkette, "Do you know anyone by the name of Nabaat?"

Lightning's eyes flared with hatred as she nodded, "Yeah, Jihl Nabaat, she's one of the best and a leader of PSICOM, not to mention a total bitch according to some rumors."

The blond nodded and returned to speak, "Boy, sir, you sure know how to pick a mood killer. Anything we can do to calm her down, besides giving her some whips, oil, and a virgin boy as sacrifice?"

Lightning face-palmed at Naruto's jokes while the voice chuckled, "_Ahahaha… I wish, soldier. Hell, I'd be that sacrifice to get close to that pair, if you get my meaning. Unfortunately, she and her pet are going to burn our balls if we don't find this girl and do something soon._"

Naruto nodded, "Understood, I'll… Wait… Hey! Who's there?! Y-You… Augh!" and then, after some effective voice acting, Naruto crushed the small communication device. "So much for plan A, it's time to go with plan B. Damn it, I didn't expect them to target Serah from the start." He groaned and put a hand on his chin to think his next move better, "We better inspect that house now, they'll just come by, think Villiers did this, and that these soldiers got amnesia from the attack. Let's get out before that happens. After this little stunt, we have PSICOM's attention here and perhaps enough time to find Villiers."

Lightning raised a brow, "Were you always this smart?"

"I don't like to brag..." Naruto said with a smirk, "But, yes, I always try to have a plan even if it's in the middle of a bad situation." He gave her a warm grin, "I learned that the hard way."

"What if Snow didn't learn such a lesson and charges through PSICOM?" Lightning asked, "We know he's that kind of person, so far he only survived by pure luck, and-"

"Listen…" he started to try to calm her down, "If Villiers is stupid enough to run around without a plan to take care of Serah, keep her hidden from danger, and drags her to some dangerous place while doing nothing but making things worse, I will punch him." That was a promise.

"Get in line." The pinkette replied as they went to NORA's leader's house.

The place was a mess, but it was hard to tell if it had been PSICOM or Snow. What they did find was an answering machine. Without a single word, Lightning walked to put, pressed the play button and they heard the recorded message: "_Hey, Hero! It's us! Listen, get yourself and future Miss Villiers to the gates outside town, we'll race past through those soldiers without a problem! After that, it'll be time to show Anima why the army's no match for NORA!_"

Two swords slammed the machine, destroying it, "I take it back, I won't punch him, I will rip off his spine." Naruto said as he and Lightning turned and ran off.

Lightning gritted her teeth, "Anima?! How can he be so idiotic?!" she asked as she hefted her gun-blade in its gun form.

Naruto shook his head, "It's supposed to be the thing that branded her, right? She must want to find a way to get rid of her brand with that fal'Cie's help, so she used Villiers's help."

"PSICOM must have had plans to get that thing out of town. Those two are going on a suicide mission." Lightning growled.

The two raced faster towards the large towering figure that was the fal'Cie Anima, a being that the people of Bodhum just got used to seeing but that now, for some reason, PSICOM was planning to get out. That unnerved the bouncer, "Why would they do that? Why now? No-one's even batted an eye since that thing arrived who knows how long."

"Beats me, PSICOM's plans never made sense to me." She replied as they increased their pace. Well, Lightning did, Naruto was following her to not give away too much of what he was capable of, unless it was absolutely necessary. Like now.

"Let's split." The blond said as he turned around a different corner, "I'll cut their escape route, and you face them head-on."

The pinkette nodded and raced down her way, and when the blond saw that she was out of sight and hearing range, he closed his eyes. In that moment, the night of Bodhum shone with life for him. He sensed every living essence, even that of Anima itself, and, most importantly, Serah's unmistakable essence. He could sense her fear, worry, and sorrows as she advanced along a group of people whose overconfidence gave them away easily as NORA. He groaned as he felt Snow's presence there, and in a flash of golden light the blond was gone from the streets, and a few yards behind the unsuspecting rebellious group.

Serah gasped when she heard the sound of his stylish shoes echoing in the dark as he stepped forward, "Naruto…" she turned and saw the blond, his new sword clutched in his right hand in an inverted grip. Blood Fang itself even seemed to resonate with Naruto's anger as he stared at Snow.

"Who do you think you are, Villiers?" Naruto asked as he approached the tall man. "Not even as a kid would I do something so stupid as to get someone like Serah in danger."

Snow raised his hands defensively, "Hey, dude, chill. What's with y-" and, just as promised, Naruto threw his fist at Snow, who watched in shock and horror as it passed by his head and made a hole on the wall behind him, "W-Whoa…" his friends rushed to help him, the two kids the bouncer saw once and the large muscular man with the fiery mohawk while Lebreau stared at the blond while Snow backpedaled away from Naruto.

"N-Naruto…" it was Lebreau, who stepped behind while clutching a large assault rifle. "I guess it's too late to talk this over some lemonade."

Naruto wiped his punching hand, "I'm not here to talk with you." He said coldly before turning to Serah. He kept speaking to NORA as he advanced towards Serah, "You've put Serah in danger, your first idea was to come to a place in which she could get captured or, even worse, killed. You didn't tell me or Lightning anything about this when we care for her, no matter if she were trying to keep us out. And, most importantly…"

The petite pinkette shivered, wanting to close her eyes and not look at his angry expression, and even less to listen to the disapproval he would carry in his words. But, to her shock, his eyes turned into those soft, blue and caring orbs she had known him for. He didn't waste any time and walked to her, and before she knew it, his strong arms were keeping her close to him. Serah felt his cheek on the top of her head as he held her closer. He didn't cry, he didn't make a sound, he just held her there, warmly and lovingly. Serah moved her arms around him and hugged her guardian back. Her body moved on its own then, her face buried itself in his chest and she could feel her tears threatening to slide down her cheeks.

He continued, "You… You worried me, Serah."

She let her tears fall. This was the Naruto she knew.

But, their little reunion was cut short, "Freeze!"

NORA, Serah and Naruto turned and found several PSICOM soldiers. The bouncer growled, "I knew this'd happen!" he let go of Serah and stood between her and the soldiers, "Hey, Villiers!" he said as he turned to the man, "If you don't want to taste another punch like that with all my might, get Serah out of here, now!" he twirled Blood Fang in his hand once and walked to the soldiers, "I'll deal with these guys! If Serah's not safe and unharmed, I will do whatever it takes, even crawl out of my own grave, to show you what a demon is truly like!"

Lebreau held Serah's hands, knowing the blond meant his words, and the ladies ran off while the guys and the kids stared at Naruto. One PSICOM captain aimed his rifle at him, "What do you think you're doing?! That girl is definitely a l'Cie, why else would she be here? Would you dare to stand up for an enemy of Cocoon?"

Naruto grabbed his neck with his left hand and cracked some joints on it, with his eyes burning a tired glare at the captain, "I can listen to all your reasons as long as you want…" he put his left hand into his pants pocket and kept his bored glare on the man, "And I'll still choose to fight the entire world if it means she doesn't have to shed a tear!"

Snow stepped by his side, holding up his gloved fists, "You said it, man! Let's show these punks what heroes are like!"

Naruto replied by swinging his sword at Snow, making the man backpedal again, "I told you to keep Serah safe!" he barked as he turned to the hero wannabe brawler, baring his teeth which canines sharpened and grew into more feral fangs, "Get her out, now!"

The soldiers fired, barrages of three to five quick shots sailed through the wind at the blond men. Naruto just turned his head lazily to them, keeping on his bored glare. What Snow saw marveled him even more than the sight of a pack of beasts dead at the bouncer's hands. The blond swung his cleaver once, and in a split second, the bullets stopped. The soldiers blinked and gasped. All that could be seen by the naked human eye was a blue blur that followed the arc in which Naruto swung his blade. Wind gales flowed around the blur, as if the force were not only forcing them away from that space, but showing the sharpness of the blade with a slash in the air itself!

What followed next was a couple dozen of bullets falling to the ground, split in half. Naruto just hefted Blood Fang on his shoulder and kept that now intimidating bored glare on his opponents, "I'm not going to kill you…" he said calmly, "You aren't even worth the trouble."

The soldiers took offense to that and fired again. Naruto charged right at them to start his counter attack. In one split second he had a bullet coming at him, zipping over his amber shades and one millimeter from his pupil, and by spinning on his heels the bullets flew past him and nailed a wall. The blond dashed at the nearest soldier and before the PSICOM grunt could aim, the bouncer swung Blood Fang. The moment the soldier fired again he found out that all he could hear was the clicking of his gun hitting an empty magazine. The masked marksman looked down and, yes, he was seeing things right, the bouncer had cut his gun in half. The next second the soldier found Naruto's foot in his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back into unconsciousness.

Naruto slowly lowered his foot while the other soldiers tried to work their minds into accepting what they saw. The moment he turned to them they started to fire again. The process repeated itself. The soldiers would try to reduce Naruto to cheese, the blond would weave around the bullets and reduce the guns to pieces of useless junk, and the bouncer's foot or free fist would be set firmly in a soft fleshy part.

Once all the soldiers were down, more came forward. "Oh please tell me this is a joke." Naruto growled as he got his sword ready and watched as the new soldiers also carried swords of their own with mastered grips, "Fine, it seems I'll have some fun now." He raised Blood Fang in front of his chest in a defensive position with his left arm following that defensive motion.

Naruto allowed himself to give his back and look for NORA, finding the team gone. He sighed to himself and heard footsteps, "You're a bit late…" he said, expecting to see Lightning. Instead, he found a woman in a moderately hot outfit.

She had ashy blonde hair that reached to her mid-thigh, and she wielded a baton that was designed to be primarily used for fencing. She had a sexy librarian look with her glasses, which were thin-framed and had what looked like her initials in Cocoon script engraved in the arm. She had a dress with a skirt one or two inches above her knees, and the uniform of a PSICOM commander. She had also a nice set of legs in brown thighs with her feet in high-heeled shoes that didn't make her stand that much taller.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I presume." She said calmly with a warm smile, the likes Naruto was used to when meeting masterminds with egos so massive the hot air in their heads could lift a city in a balloon.

The blond decided to play her game, after all, it was more fun to do things that way, "And I presume you aren't looking for a date." He said with a laidback tone and a small warm smile. He kept his smile because of the swordsmen that still hadn't attacked him.

"I'd be flattered any other day, but I believe we have something in common." The woman pushed up her glasses with one hand, "I am Jihl Nabaat, and I came with a small proposal, Mr. Uzumaki." He raised a brow but let her talk, waving his hand to tell her to explain herself. "I believe you are mistaken in who you are protecting."

That wasn't the best thing to say around the blond, he got ready for a fight with Blood Fang hanging by his side, "Take your time to word your next sentence carefully, lady."

She kept her smile and nodded, "Yes, I apologize; after all, I know how important Serah Farron is for you. That's why even if I work for PSICOM I think that she may be of great use for us instead of a threat." She extended her hand to him, "If you were willing to help us find her and calm her down, we'd be delighted to help her too." she smiled, "Besides, someone of your skill could really work for PSICOM. I've heard of your skills from some troublesome gangsters who we investigated earlier on. To read someone's movements by just gazing at their muscles, that's a skill I admit I envy. And it could help us free your friend from her mark."

Naruto inwardly cackled, '_Yeah, sweetheart, kiss my ass all you want, you're not fooling me. Hell, you should read about subtlety… Then again, she is masking her intentions like a good actress. Too bad for her I can see and sense what she's hiding._' He gave her a warm smile and scratched the back of his head, "While flattered, I need proof that I can be taken to Serah. Sorry if I seem distrustful, but an idiot stole her away from me and I am rather mad…" he put emphasis on that by gripping Blood Fang tighter, because that last sentence wasn't a lie, just the honest truth.

Jihl pried her eyes from the blade screaming pain, "Of course."

"So, how did you find me or know about me? Can I really believe it was because you met some gangsters along the way?" he asked bluntly. '_She attacks and she is really desperate to get me under her thumb. She doesn't attack and she must have something else in mind._'

Jihl smiled warmly again, "Well, I did observe you and gathered the needed information after finding out who carried the brand and who she was related to. Sadly, I can't seem to find a way of contacting her sister."

He mentally groaned, '_She's playing this well… Better be careful._' He smiled, "Well then… Where to next?"

Jihl smiled and showed him a board with a screen on it, and an image of NORA and Serah flying off in air-bikes, "I'll take you to my ship. PSICOM should be able to find and follow them. We will need your help into calming down Serah and taking care of those guys."

"Naruto?" said blond turned and found Lightning standing there while looking cautiously at the soldiers and Jihl.

He turned to her, "I've found Serah, but-"

Here, Lightning glared at him, silencing the bouncer, "Where's Serah, and why are you with PSICOM?!"

She was mad, and he knew it, so he turned to Jihl, "Can I have a talk with her?" she nodded, albeit reluctantly, and motioned for her soldiers to follow her and give the two some alone time. "Listen, I can find Serah. It'll take you to trust me and PSICOM's abilities into tracking her down."

Lightning crossed her arms, her glare growing hotter, "They will kill her, so give me one good reason to believe you are the Naruto I know and Serah cared about."

He stared at her calmly, "I will protect her, just like how I promised myself I'd protect you too."

She wasn't buying it, "And you expect me to believe this? After what happened and what you know PSICOM can do, why are you even doing this? We need to save Serah ourselves or-"

"Claire…" Naruto started, calling her by her real name stopped her. The pinkette stared at him as he gave her a fake smile. Not a malicious one, but a pained one. He was trying to be strong, and his words were truthful, "I'm not a hero. I can't save everyone no matter how hard I try. I have my own problems that I need someone to help me with. I usually make the wrong choice and that can cost many people their lives if I blind myself with stupid ideals. Everything I've done before meeting you and Serah had been one huge mistake, I was nothing but a tool of some twisted fated tale written to make my goals meaningless…"

She listened to him, his words carried pain, yet he kept that smile up for her, "Naruto…" she said, being unable to think of anything else to say at the moment.

"And yet…" The blond looked up and smiled, "And yet, I finally have something good in my life. I can choose how I want to live, I have freedom, and I can be myself. But, above all else, I have someone who gave me true kindness. I'm not speaking about taking me in, giving me food, clothes, or sharing warm smiles. What I was given was acceptance. One look at me, and I was accepted, cared for, and given the right to be loved as if I was born for more than to be put into a war."

"Serah…" Lightning said and the blond nodded.

"That's why I have a reason to fight now." He moved forward towards Jihl, "If Serah's in trouble, then I'll find a solution to bring her out and change everything. Forget the Focus, forget whatever we're told by others, because we can and will get rid of the mark, and when we do, we will bring Serah back for a party." He turned his head around and, to her surprise, he grinned, a truthful, cheerful, Naruto Uzumaki style grin of confidence, "I actually have a plan, but it won't be easy."

"You're not a hero!" She shouted, "All your plans up until now haven't brought us Serah back, so what makes things different now? You can't be her knight in shining armor this time."

"I never claimed to be one…" He stated coolly. "All I am is a guy that's good at fighting, and if that's good enough, then I won't hesitate. I will fight everyone I need to in order to save Serah." He looked into the sky, smiling softly, "No matter what happens to me, I am done hesitating. I'm no hero; I don't have the power to save everyone... But what I can do is put my life on the line to see a smile. For the person who gave me a chance to enjoy life again, to make sure she can keep smiling, I will fight." He spoke as he walked towards Jihl again, "But, if you think that everything's meaningless, then give up already on Serah…"

Lightning gritted her teeth, her eyes wide. Her own words towards the blond, they were painful for her to listen to. Those words felt like she meant them not only to him, but to herself. She shook her head, unable to think clearly at the moment. What could she do? What was the point of fighting for Serah if things could get worse? Could she even see her sister again, free of some mark that'd ruin her life and bring them apart? And why was Naruto so confident, how did he just keep moving forward, why… why didn't he give up?

That last question escaped her lips, "Then why fight?"

Naruto smiled softly, "Because you know you'll never forgive yourself if you don't take the chance." He reached into his pocket, pulled out his pack of cigarettes, popped one into his mouth, and while chewing on the filter without lightning the cancer stick he spoke to her, "If this doesn't work, then all we have to do is try harder at no matter what. Think you can do that for me? Try hard even if you have nothing else?"

She looked down, her fists and teeth clenched, "Make sure… that Serah doesn't cry."

He chuckled, "That's been my one policy in life since I met you."

And then he entered Jihl's ship, waiting for the chaos to start.

XXXXXX

"He's taken the bait, but are you sure that puppet can keep a leash on him?"

"Not at all, but for now it's served to keep him following Serah at a safe distance. All I have to do is give my order and not even Jihl will be able to believe the results unfolding."

"Hehehehe… He truly is too kind for his own good…"

**XXXXXX**

**And that's my rap!**

**So, as promised, I'll keep the Snow bashing down. Sorry if it showed that I don't like him very much, but he does make a good butt monkey, as in being the target for jokes, not punches. I mean, he constantly brags about "heroes don't need plans" to the point it seems to me that he marks himself as being bollocks-for-brain stupid. But, yes, I do dislike Snow because he tried to get Serah to Anima, the fal'Cie that branded her and that may not be friendly at all. And he does so while tons of soldiers are shooting at them, throws her at the top of the thing, and all because he didn't think things through.**

**At least give Canon Naruto some credit, even after all Kishimoto did to punch him to the ground so Sasuke gets everything, Naruto himself has proven to be smart like all the times he mentioned and even mocked the likes of Zabuza, Kiba, Neji, Obito, the Third Raikage, and even Kaguya with plans that he pulls out of his fan-girl-attracting ass yet are so damn stupid that they just have to work.**

**And I'll admit to taking inspiration for Naruto's "I'm not a hero" speech from a certain Maverick Hunter from the Megaman series when he faced a true monster in the end.**

-OMAKE-

Understandably irritable

"So, why am I here?" the bouncer asked the person in the large pearly throne as he stood in the middle of an empty land with pretty rails made of light swirling around the place.

The figure before him happened to be a goddess, built like you'd expect one to be, with curly blonde hair, a white robe and golden accessories. She smiled gently at the lone bouncer, "You and many others have been summoned to this realm, Naruto. I am Cosmos, and I need your help."

Naruto aimed a finger at her, "Yeah, you'll have to stop there, lady. First of all, how do you know my name? Why should I even fight for you when I have more important things to do such as saving my friend Serah? And how do I get back?"

She blinked, "You… still have your memories?"

Naruto growled, "Hey, you should know I don't like the sound of that." He tapped his head with his index and middle left fingers, his right hand clenching Blood Fang tighter, "I've had a lot of creeps trying to brainwash me in my life, by now I've gotten some pretty neat defenses. You should've known that if you summoned me here and got my name."

She blinked again at his rudeness, "You are from a realm different to the ones I look over, I… didn't expect any of this, to be honest."

He sighed tiredly, pulled out a cigarette and chewed on its filter, "Well, pardon me if I'm irritable, lady. I had this lovely, adorable, and downright cute girl taken from me, and now here I am, away from my friend and some other poor guys who got dragged into a big mess, and you want me to fight for you." He pulled his cigarette and crushed it, "I'm not this angry usually. I like to play the cool laidback guy all the time, but if you must know something about me then this is a big lesson: I hate getting dragged into stupid fights." He sighed and pulled back his hair, "I've been in a war once, fought for a greater cause because some people in power said so, and you can guess how the rest goes for me to really dislike this situation you've put me in, lady."

"Rude little one, aren't you? I should teach you manners." A new voice said, and the blond stared down to look at its owner.

He let out a chuckle as he aimed his crushed cigarette at the small creature, "Oh look, a kitty." He said with a large laidback grin meant to irritate the creature, and it worked.

The figure got furious, "What?! Do you know who I am and what I am capable of?!" the small creature, a female cat-like being in robes with a black nose, a blond bob-cut and large pointy ears shouted.

Cosmos closed her eyes, "Please, forgive Shantotto, Naruto. And forgive me for putting you in this kind of situation, but I do need your help."

Naruto sighed, "I would like to help you while I have time, lady, but you literally took me away from very important matters that could mean a lot of deaths."

She smiled, "Don't worry… You are still able to fight in that world… This realm of mine exists in a rift in time and space so that when you get back home it will feel as if nothing happened."

Naruto pulled out another cigarette and twirled it in his fingers, his stare focused on Cosmos with too much concentration, and he spoke, "I… have no idea of what you've just said or how it makes sense, but if it means things aren't in danger, you better hold up to your word because, as I've said, there's this one little lady I care about more than some fight."

"You'll be able to see her, along your friend who is here too." the blonde said.

Naruto raised a brow, "Lightning is here?"

Cosmos nodded, but her warm smile fell, "Yes, along… someone else…"

XXXXXX

Kaguya herself smiled, why was that? Well… "Finally… I am free!" she cackled, looking at her hands with glee, "And now… to make Naruto kneel before me… Why… I'll even have him as my pet, chained to my throne and serving me… Fufufufufu…"

XXXXXX

"Is something wrong?" Cosmos asked.

Naruto shook his head, "Yeah… just a shiver running down my spine."

XXXXXX

"Hey, Light, is everything all right?" a voluptuous woman with brown hair that reached her behind and tied at the tip with a red lace, breasts that only gods could craft hidden only by a white top and black shorts that hugged a glorious derriere to the point they needn't the suspenders at the sides of her generous mammaries, asked Naruto's favorite moody pinkette.

Lightning nodded at the brunette, "Yeah, I just felt that I need to punch someone."

**XXXXXX**

**Yeah, you can tell Naruto will have some reasons to be mad in Dissidia, but this OMAKE will be the first and only in which he gets this irritable. Only way to anger him is facing someone who deserves a punch to the face, i.e. several of the villains. Sorry if his intro for Dissidia isn't as grandiose as some of you would have expected, but I think I'll go with him being a bit more of a smartass there for the sake of trolling the needlessly serious villains and try to get the more angsty heroes to cheer up. There'll be, of course, several levels of success and failure in those.**

**Swordslinger out!**


	4. Chapter 4

I OWN NOTHING

I've read some Kongou Banchou and got some good inspiration for this story despite the cliché of that manga. It is a fun read and knows how long it has to be and what it has to do, so it's worth checking out.

**XXXXXX**

-Mini OMAKE-

Why choose him?

If one questioned what really brought Cosmos to summon someone who had contact with demons, used the power of darkness when succumbing to his rage, and had more than once become a monster when his anger had pierced the skies, then they should see how she reacted to a particular scene. One Naruto Uzumaki had the power to turn darkness into light after being in contact with the dark side of a demon all of his life, and yet he had been more than capable to surprise the goddess in another way, in a day that at first seemed simple in his new life.

"Naruto!" Serah cried to her blond guardian fell before her, his back slamming the hot ground under a blazing sun. She rushed at his side and pulled his head to her lap, before turning hers to the attacker, "Sis!"

Lightning huffed, "You're overreacting, Serah, and so is he. It's a beach ball, not a cannonball." She said and kicked aside the object which seconds ago she slammed into the bouncer's face.

It was one of Lightning's off days and the little lady that Naruto saw as family decided to go to the beach. They had taken pictures and showed off their swimsuits, which meant Naruto would use his killing intent in a subtle way that the sisters didn't notice to shoot large amounts of intimidating bloodlust at anyone who ogled the girls in their bikinis. He would then smile at them while the aura of murder shooed men from approaching the little lady he cared for more than his life and her elder sister, who helped him with her very glare scaring the piss out of anyone who ogled the younger pinkette.

The now unconscious Naruto groaned, and some bystanders started to approach the blond, some ladies who wanted to catch attention and get fun with revealing bikinis and nubile bodies more than others. Serah was oblivious to this and panicked at his dazed expression, "I think I should let him breathe easier."

And she unbuttoned his red Hawaiian shirt, which had been closed from the start. Once she pulled out the final button, she pushed aside the sides of his shirt and let his chest exposed… The very goddess of light gasped at the sight, "Goodness gracious alive! You could grind meat on those!" she shouted in her realm, her hands on her shocked face's cheeks which were getting red and hot to the point they glowed. Years of beating thugs and punks at the club, training hard despite no longer being a shinobi, and having too much free time along long training sessions as a hobby did great for the blond to get a stronger body marked with muscle and no ounce of fat. Cosmos did find herself staring too much at his form.

One of the ladies, clad in a V-string bikini to show off her voluptuous body, raced to the blond, "I think he needs to get some air, mouth-to-mouth…" she was about to grab the dazed Naruto's face… but Lightning's iron grip on the woman's wrist said no.

"He's fine. Get out." The elder pinkette all but growled with a feral expression that made obeying her the only option.

Cosmos breathed to calm herself, after such a sight, she would need to add the blond whenever she had trouble... Perhaps even have him as her bodyguard...

**XXXXXX**

Ok, with that out of the way to keep you all in a good mood, let's start this fic. But before that:

-Official harem: Lightning, Serah and Kaguya.

-Harem Candidates: Jihl and Fang, and it's my opinion on how I will make it work. If you got a problem with it, give constructive criticism in how it could work or I'll power-bomb your head into Barthandelus's fat ass.

-Dissidia girls: take this the same way you'd do with a spin-off, it happens away from the main story and doesn't have much if any impact. It'll be me mostly inhaling cocaine- I mean, having fun while writing the OMAKE. As for those girls being in a harem… well, as I've said it'll be just mindless fun, nothing big to ponder about or try too hard to comprehend, just the fun of someone smoking pot, I mean having fun.

For her sake

And there he found himself, his eyes locked with Jihl's as both sat in a table, her glasses showed that she didn't need them for they were a mere accessory. What he did need to do at that moment with several soldiers standing at the sides of the table with the two blondes at both ends, was to say something. He gently stood up tall and proud, his Blood Fang at his side, and pushed up his shades.

"This will be the first time I try to be this disrespectful to a lady." He said seriously, "But don't you have something else?"

Jihl smiled softly, "Sorry, it's either this black coffee or some crackers." She said as she took a sip of her steaming cup, leaving a mark of her lips with a drop of coffee on the edge. "I know it's been a long night, but we don't possess the required accommodations for you. Our first action should have been to attack you, but I saw a chance to help your friend." She said with a friendly smile that thankfully didn't fool Naruto.

The blond sighed, grabbed his cup, and handed it to a soldier, "Can I at least have cream with it, please?" The soldier looked at Jihl, who raised her own cup at him too, signaling for him to make their guest and her as comfortable as possible. Her attention temporarily off when the soldier grabbed her cup, she was unable to see Naruto grabbing his spoon as he sat back down. "So, Miss Nabaat, what really brought you to the decision of having me here?" he asked casually, "I do doubt it's about a date, I know a competent woman who takes herself seriously." After living with Lightning, he'd have to be really stupid to not recognize one. "But you are giving me some hope." Then again, he liked ticking people off, hence why he bit Kiba's hand when posing as his puppy in their fight before the Chunin Exams.

She kept her smile, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mister Uzumaki. But I do appreciate your respect and formality." She set down her glasses to stare at him better, "I just found you interesting in a different way. Like I've said, I have done my research on you. You don't get to my position without knowing more than meets the eye."

Naruto chuckled, "You could have also used your pretty smile." If one read between the lines, he was mentioning he knew her current smile was a fake one.

She humored him with a small chuckle, "Mister Uzumaki, I believed you were worried about Serah. Do not worry about her, PSICOM will out let her out of their sights, let alone anything happen to her without our word on it." Her smile could've been interpreted as a threat or the truth being twisted, Naruto bet more on the second but there was no doubt she also meant the former.

Naruto did his best so his smile didn't tense, '_It's like one of those ridiculous spy films. Sooner or later I'll be tied to her bed and ready to make some harsh questioning about my life before I met the sisters or the likes… I can just hear her say "Mr. Uzumaki, I expect you to die" to complete that image and end the story._' Though the idea of being in her bed, tied up, sounded appealing, he didn't like being at the end of the whip, "You can cut the mister thing, Miss Nabaat. I've never been one to being addressed so formally."

Jihl raised a brow at such words, "Don't you mean that you don't like being addressed this way?"

He chuckled and shook his head, "No, I meant I'm not used to it. Except for a few hostesses working at my club, I've never heard it much, and you constantly repeating it when addressing me feels weird. Call me Naruto, please." He said with his best charming smile. In his mind, however, he felt like he was in a date, with Death itself.

Kaguya knew it the moment Jihl's smile turned colder, "**Naruto, you're getting yourself in too much trouble with this woman.**"

Jihl chuckled, "I'm afraid I couldn't do that, just yet." She said and put her glasses back on, "Even if you're someone whose help I will need, I should be able to trust in you if we are to find Serah and stop her before any harm is done." She smiled sweetly at him once more, "I hope you can forgive this rudeness, but to work well with others I must know they will be able to follow my orders."

Naruto chuckled and he could see it all: he would have looked at the soldier who took his and Jihl's coffee returned, and looked at Jihl in the eye, "Is that why you drugged my coffee?" In that instant, all the soldiers would aim their guns at the blond and Jihl would stand up, her eyes wide, "How did you-" she would say, shocked when Naruto lashed his arm at her, and despite the distance, her cup of coffee would be hit by the spoon he had hidden in his sleeve. The cup would get smashed to pieces, and the drink would fall on the table, completely black, showing it had no cream with a drug cocktail.

But instead of that, he 'clumsily' let the coffee fall from his hand when the soldier handed it to him, "Oh my…" Naruto said with his eyes on the hot steaming liquid fell on the floor around his shoes, and he made a tired if apologetic facial expression, "Um… how much do I owe you for that cup?" He asked Jihl with a fake nervous smile, inwardly laughing as she clenched her cup of black coffee harder to the point it nearly cracked. The soldier and Naruto immediately picked up the pieces and he wiped his hands on a handkerchief, "Sorry about that, I'll-"

"No worries, we have enough of those." Jihl said as she cooled herself off.

Kaguya sighed, "**I can't believe he's this smart… To avoid a fight with her in order to find Serah he'd still play this cat and mouse game with her… Tch… Just like how he fooled me.**" That didn't make the rabbit goddess any happy but it was the truth, and for now she was glad that Naruto was safe, but only because that meant she would stay alive, nothing else, as if she would care about the idiot.

Sighing inwardly in relief, Naruto contemplated his current wit-relying opponent, '_She's managed to get her composure back in the blink of an eye, and had it not been for my senses I'd probably be on the floor now. Still, she didn't use poisons, just some strange drug for whatever she had planned for me… I better be careful or she could do bad things to me._' Here an image of his nude self, tied to her bed before an image of Jihl in a dominatrix outfit consisting of black thigh-high boots, near shoulder-length black gloves, and a black V-string bikini. '_Ok, that wouldn't be a bad way to go, but still…_'

"Back to your previous matter…" she said, cutting his train of thought, "I believe it'll be fine if you call me Jihl." She said with her friendly smile back, "I've said I will work by having your trust, so I'll give you mine."

Naruto raised a brow, '_If she's trying to play with me to get me to lower my guard, I better be careful… On the other hand, it could be worse. Anko was definitely scarier, and I like my chances better with this woman than with Anko. At least here I know someone wants me to be either killed or locked up, with Anko it was always either dying by her methods or being her plaything, and I don't know which of those two options scares me most._' He put on a smile in the end, "Well, I would definitely enjoy hearing my name being called by a beautiful lady." He pulled down his glasses to give his hardboiled act, "And you are quite the beauty."

Kaguya face-palmed, "**That's it, from now on, every time you use such a cliché or overly hammy line I will add another torture session to you when I get free.**"

Naruto inwardly chuckled to the goddess, '_It's either playing her game while acting like my stupid self, or getting Serah in danger. Sorry, but for her sake I am willing to humiliate myself with these cheesy lines._'

Jihl giggled softly to herself, "You show too much calm after everything that has happened."

Naruto shrugged, "In what I've had of life I've learned two things: one should always appreciate what they have and not what they want to have, and I'm a really good sore loser." He said with a smile in the end which unnerved Jihl a bit considering what could be implied.

She did shrug off the uneasiness and attacked, "I'm afraid being a sore loser isn't a trait to boast about."

Naruto chuckled, "In my case, it is. Because, no matter what happens, what people throw at me, I will just keep trying until I've earned my victory. I'm pretty stubborn to put it simple, trust me on that." He leaned on his seat and flashed her another warm smile, "I know someone who is just like that. If you two met… I'd actually be scared considering you have a few things in common."

Jihl chuckled, "Mr. Uzumaki, you should know a lady doesn't like being compared to another by a man. And less when we're in the middle of something important."

Naruto chuckled back, "I thought it'd be best to lighten the mood and calm down while we can. Getting into a fight with a sour mood really takes you out of your psyche… As for the comparison, you should really meet this one person, you could learn from her. For starters, she does seem like the kind of person you'd be if you were a mother, is as intelligent as you and, if I may be as bold as to say this, also very, very beautiful." Kaguya grunted and blushed at Naruto's words. In her mind she swore her revenge for those embarrassing words, she swore it over the centuries she planned to take over the world.

Jihl smiled, "So, I remember you of your mother? That's not exactly the best line to use in order to compliment a lady."

Naruto smiled too, "I never said it was my mother. I meant it all honestly, this one woman you remind me of was quite pretty, and also quite a handful." He smiled softly, "She pretty much beat me up and gave me one hell of a fight. Believe what you want, but facing her in battle is a promise to pain with her tricks."

Jihl didn't like one single word, "Tricks?"

Naruto closed his eyes, "I can already sense Serah nearby…" he opened them and smiled sweetly at Jihl, "And yes, she had good tricks, but they couldn't beat some of mine."

The soldiers gripped their guns tighter and Jihl moved one hand to where she kept her baton hidden, "What trick are you playing now, then?"

The bouncer lashed his arm out, and from it the spoon he had hidden shot out. Jihl and the other soldiers watched how it flew up and nailed a circular metallic structure on the ceiling. When the sprinkler got knocked out, water poured down and started to flood the room. Jihl groaned and swiftly took some skilled steps back so not even her shoes got wet and watched her soldiers struggle with the water. They cried, unable to see with the artificial storm in the room, with their leader making her way to the exit to try to see Naruto more clearly… only to see him rushing past her with a grin, a two-fingered salute, and a wink.

It didn't take her long to snap, "What're you waiting for?! Get him!" she shouted and pointed her baton at the running blond.

Some soldiers that had rushed to the room after listening to the cries of their fellow PSICOM members and Jihl's orders turned to the red clad former shinobi clutching the large slab of metal he called a sword in his right hand. They instantly opened fire with his crimson trench coat serving the purpose of a good target. The moment they pulled the trigger and started opening fire had been the moment Naruto turned to his side and jumped down a hall, rolling away from the heavy lead projectiles.

Jihl gritted her teeth at first, but then noticed where he had gone and smiled. She walked after him with her baton ready, "Uzumaki, you should have taken the other hall. You would have run into more PSICOM forces, but you wouldn't have come face to face with a dead end." She smirked while she walked around the corner he disappeared into… and found a large hole on the supposed dead end that showed the skies.

Outside of the ship, with Blood Fang in his mouth, clenched by his teeth, and his hands and feet gripping the metallic surface of Jihl's ship with his chakra, Naruto knew he had done something incredibly stupid, "Aw-kay…" he said, being unable to articulate proper words with the sword handle in his mouth and the wind trying to force him off the ship. "Bahd aye-dee-ah…" indeed it had been a bad idea, but for now it worked. He made his way to the top, both to stand on his feet and start to walk to a safe hiding place, and to get Blood Fang out of his mouth. Once at the top of the tower he was able to appreciate that it was day time already.

The sun had risen some time ago, showing the beaches of Bodhum, and several PSICOM troops seizing control, "**They… had all this planned out?**" Kaguya asked with a gasp.

"Damn it, these guys move too fast when it's convenient for them." Naruto complained with his fist gripping Blood Fang so hard his knuckles cracked, "I better get Serah before these guys do." He looked down to the PSICOM ships and jet-pack wearing snipers flying to the city, "Guess the good old stealth method can kiss the audience goodbye for now." Kaguya groaned at the cheesy line, even if she agreed to its truth.

"You will stop there!" said a familiar group of sword wielding soldiers.

Naruto got Blood Fang up and leaned his body forward, his old school stance when having any blade, "You're up for an actual fight?" he asked casually with a smirk, "You sure about it?" they got into their own trained stance, making Naruto a bit uneasy, due to not wanting to kill them and give Jihl a good reason to chase him. "Hey, I'm being serious here, guys… And getting cut is a bitch." They stepped forward slowly, "Then, there's no way we can talk about this? Guys?" he asked, gripping Blood Fang tighter. When sensing their killer intent, he had to sigh, "Then sorry but… I'm not ready to cash out just yet."

Three jumped at him, one from above and the other from the sides. He rushed at the one coming from above who had his arms and sword over his head. The blond parried his strike as the other two attacked simultaneously, and then took his chance. Once Blood Fang met the other steel, the bouncer flicked his wrist. With his opponent's sword twisting PSICOM's swordsman's wrists and arms, the blond used his free hand to grab the guy and drag him around in a circle, making it hard for the other soldiers to strike their friend.

He couldn't help but grin, a soldier unable to attack his ally meant that they had to be good in some way. However, that made things slightly harder for him, just slightly. As the soldier to his left rushed around his friend to attack the bouncer, Naruto twisted his left arm around the captured soldier's right arm, spun him around, and forced the two swordsmen to smash face-first against the other, cracking their helmets from the force. Once letting the two fall to the ground and grateful that they weren't falling off he faced the other one who tried to stab him. Naruto once again parried the blow with his sword, forced his opponent's blade up by sheer force, and punched him in the face.

With the soldier stumbling backwards to his friends, bent over while trying to grab his head to shake off the dizziness of the strike, Naruto rushed forward. The other swordsmen readied themselves for everything, but not what happened next. Naruto jumped at their dizzy ally, put a foot on the man's back to use it as a step, and jumped high in the air at them. They all tried to strike their airborne enemy, but Naruto's footwork was faster. The nearest soldier felt the bouncer's right dress shoe on his shoulder, using it also as a step. Thus the blond rushed forward, jumping over PSICOM's elite members to get away from them and out.

Once he gave his final jump he could see the edge of the ship, his way out to one of the docks and perhaps an air-bike big enough for Serah and him to get safely out or at least far enough to properly think of something to help her… But in a second he knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Soon Blood Fang met steel once again, this time in the form of Jihl's baton. Naruto groaned when she pushed him back with her underlings surrounding the two of them, showing she didn't get to her position just by looking pretty or being smart. Jihl easily forced him to parry all her swift lashes and thrusts with her baton as she singlehandedly showed her skills with her free hand on her waist, a standard fencing pose.

He managed to step to the side and spin around her, watching her raise her baton to block a roundhouse kick and with his own momentum send his leg and him away from her. She softly smiled at him, though it was to mask that her fencing arm's shoulder was a bit sore from parrying his kick, "I am actually regretting it had to be this way…" the spectacled woman said with her baton aimed at him to show her fencing mastery once again. "Had you followed my orders, you could have been a great soldier for PSICOM and prevented that girl from becoming a monster."

Serah's guardian took his defensive stance with his feet reaching for the edge of the ship, "Sorry…" he smiled at her, "But I'm done taking orders from others or just mindlessly accepting their words." He pushed his right foot back, "I'd rather fight without doubts for what I want to protect, and Serah's smile is worth risking my life."

Jihl snapped once again, yet still kept her cool, only raising her voice, "Naruto, do you think you can face all of Cocoon alone?!" she asked, her face one of anger at the man at the edge of her ship.

Naruto looked at her in the eye and grinned, "Hoh…" he had a laidback smile that brightened, "I got tingles…" he gave a wide warm grin at the blonde, "Come on, baby, say my name again."

"Attack!" Jihl shouted, but as soon as her soldiers readied their swords, Naruto just leaned back without a care in the world, and let his body fall off the ship and into the battlefield. She raced at the edge and watched him fall with that annoying smile aimed at her. She soon snapped far more than before, grabbing her glasses and throwing them at the ground, "Damn that man!" she turned to her troops, "Find him and bring him to me! If he doesn't play by our rules, I will personally force them into him!"

For some reason the soldiers imagined her in a dominatrix outfit… not an unpleasant mental image. But one of them had to speak of something, "But he… just jumped from the sky…"

Jihl glared hard at him, "Would you like to join him?" the soldiers shook their heads energetically, "Then find a way to catch him immediately. Get your air-bikes and call every single special aerial force to be looking for him, apprehend that fool, and bring him to me!" she pulled a small case from her jacket which had a set of spare glasses for any situation she could break them, even losing her cool like now.

She pulled out her small computer-board from her coat and grinned upon pressing the necessary buttons. After all, why should she not keep an ace up her sleeve to know where Naruto was?

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel, but you have something sticking out of your pocket." Jihl blinked the moment she looked at where one soldier pointed, from one of her pockets a red string came out. She pulled it along two things: one was a small black device barely the size of a button, and the second was a paper. "What is that?" the soldier asked.

She gritted her teeth and raised the small device to her face, "This… was the tracking device I had supposedly put in Naruto's clothes, and this paper…" she looked at it, finding a cartoonish picture of Naruto giving her the peace sign over a text that red: _Catch me, I'm waiting_. She tore the paper to shreds, "Is his death wish…" she growled, for this had been the first time someone had angered her this much on purpose.

XXXXXX

Serah for her part worried herself, and this someone noticed, "Still worried about the big oaf?" Lebreau asked the girl holding her sides from behind, due to them and the rest of NORA still flying away from PSICOM on their air-bikes. The pinkette silently nodded into the café owner's back, making her sigh, "Listen, if what you've seen when he first tried to look after NORA is anything to go by, he won't go down, at all. And your sister's even scarier than him."

The blond kid with the spiky hair and goggles around his head that made her picture a younger and way thicker Naruto spoke, "Yeah, guy must be tough to kill monsters with his bare hands. Maybe as strong as Snow himself." He said as he mounted his bike behind the large man with the fiery mohawk, who bonked him on the head, "Ow! What was that for?!"

The muscular redhead growled, "Idiot, you should say he will come back after beating up those PSICOM goons, or that he could be a part of NORA on his own." He said with a confident grin.

Snow, who had the blue haired boy clinging to his back, grinned at Serah, "Gadot is right, Serah. That Naruto is pretty damn tough, also scary when he needs to be. When this is over, I am definitely having him join NORA to keep Cocoon and you safe." He chuckled confidently, "And if you got to worry about someone, worry about those PSICOM idiots, because real heroes don't die."

Lebreau and the rest of NORA followed their leader and his inspirational words, though Serah still hadn't calmed down, "Don't worry, Serah, whether heroes need plans or not, Naruto's actually smart enough to not get in danger. If he has one reason to be alive, that reason is you, so you better believe you'll see him again, ok?" she said with a grin.

Serah shook her head again, "Not, it's not that, but… I just felt… angry…" she confessed and put a hand to her chest, "Like something I never wanted to happen just happened and I couldn't see it."

Snow nodded and turned to look at their destination, "We're close to Anima, so that may be the reason. But don't worry, baby, this hero is here to punch some sense into that thing." He cracked his knuckles with his confidence oozing in waves, "I'll get this done sooner than later, and then we can play matchmaker for your sister and Naruto so they can chill!"

"Hey, don't forget the cavalry here!" Gadot shouted.

"Yeah, we're not chopped liver!" the blond boy added.

The bluenet cackled, "Yeah, let's show the army why they can't keep up with NORA!"

Lebreau sighed, thinking back on how she and Serah heard Naruto's yell at the men of NORA to get the pinkette to safety just as they got to her air-bike. After their escape, they still decided to go with their original plan to get Serah to Anima and find a way to complete her Focus or set her free. The pinkette was of course worried sick, for that meant going back to where Naruto had stayed behind to keep her safe. Snow said that if needed, NORA would be ready to pull out the blond from any trouble he could be in. That was the closest thing he had to a plan besides just going to meet the godlike creature that branded the pinkette.

Soon they would land on the beach, run to Anima, find Naruto and help him if he had trouble with PSICOM, and return home victorious once Serah was free from her brand after forcing Anima to set her free.

That was their idea, and they were unaware that Naruto had fooled PSICOM and Jihl into letting him close, played the authoritarian woman's game of trust and lies with the wits that had earned him respect from enemies who over-powered him, and managed to escape the spectacled woman when he needn't her help any longer to follow the group of vigilantes.

Of course, the moment they arrived to the beach they should have expected something that would have still been there whether or not Naruto had appeared: PSICOM soldiers rushing when detecting and seeing the incoming vehicles, all brandishing their guns at them. "Freeze! Hand over the girl immediately and surrender your weapons at once!" one of them, armed with a sword, shouted with the blade aimed at the group.

NORA replied by raising their weapons, fists, and having Serah stand behind them. Snow, being their leader, took charge, "We go through them and get Serah to that Fal'Cie!" he shouted and raced at the soldiers.

NORA and the soldiers were about to charge and shoot at each other, until an explosion interrupted them, shooting a large pillar of sand into the skies. Both parties looked at it, finding someone standing in a crater.

That someone was pissed off, "Who do you think you are…" he started as he raised his sword and got into a crouched and more menacing, offensive stance, "…aiming such filthy toys towards Serah?!"

Serah didn't need a second to recognize him, "Naruto!" she shouted in relief when seeing him alive and ready to kick.

He didn't reply, instead he moved his sword to his side and slammed his left palm into the ground, taking a feral stance that he had seen Kiba use, but from here it'd be all him. The PSICOM soldiers slowly stepped back, for his eyes seemed to flash a moment. The deep cerulean that would look caringly at Serah was replaced by a deep red surrounded by a pitch black, but only for a second.

"No way he's human!" Snow stated in shock as he moved his cap up to look better at the bouncer.

The soldiers were also feeling uneasy, "Where did he come from?! Did he just fall from the sky?!" They started to back-pedal, and then jumped back when Naruto lunged at them.

The PSICOM swordsman raised his blade against the blond who swung Blood Fang once, cutting one third of the sword from the tip to the guard. The captain gasped and gave another step back, but Naruto charged once again and this time cut the sword in half. The poor man knew he was beat when a third cut left him only with a two inch long blade and an angry bouncer towering over him like a beast before a wounded prey. The blond then jumped up and brought his right knee on the man's chin, sending him right to the floor knocked out cold.

One of the marksmen fell flat on his ass and crawled away from the blond. The other soldiers also stepped away from the furious blond because, with eyes like the ones he carried now, they knew he was no joke and that they were only alive because he didn't find killing them something he needed to do. Naruto hefted Blood Fang on his right shoulder and glared sternly at them, waiting for any reaction. They wisely ran off.

Upon seeing the PSICOM troops run away, he turned to NORA, "What do you think you're doing bringing Serah here again?" he shouted, and aimed his left index finger at the group of vigilantes, "Honestly, what's the point of trying to help Serah if you're just going to charge into more danger without thinking twice? If you care about someone then you should fight for them, not drag them or others into pointless fights!" he glared harder at Snow who cringed before such anger.

NORA's leader did reply, "Does that mean I should've stayed behind with my arms crossed and let her be in danger?" he asked and crossed his arms, "I am getting Serah's brand off by getting her to Anima."

Naruto growled, "And how do you plan to do that exactly?"

Snow chuckled, "I'll find a way."

Naruto snapped, "How?!" he shouted and stepped towards the other blond who was actually taller than Naruto, "If all you're going to do is proclaim to do something without anything to back you up, or no true determination, then why are you even trying?!" he shouted, mad at Snow, but for one thing he hated to admit, '_This guy… he's too much like I how I used to be as a kid. Only difference is that I grew up._'

Snow looked down at the slightly smaller blond, "I have the determination and the strength, after all, I am the hero Bodhum and Serah can rely on."

And, without any hesitation, Naruto's right fist found itself one inch from a shocked Snow's face, the smaller blond groaned while pulling back his fist, "I don't know what angers me the most, Villiers…" he started calmly with NORA's leader registering the fact his face had been inches from getting rearranged into paste, "The fact I wanted to punch you had I lost my cool, or that I know I would've punched myself had I kept saying the same things as a kid." He looked at NORA and their leader with a stern gaze, "You five better get Serah out of here, now… If you don't, you may make worse mistakes than mine, and trust me, you don't want to end up like me had I not met Serah."

"Naruto…" the pinkette started as she approached him, "What do you mean mistakes? What… How did you arrive here and… how could you fight like that?"

The blond looked at his little lady with a melancholic stare, "As I've said, I've made many mistakes in the past… The way I am now is because of that. I promise to tell you the details later, but right now we better get you out of here before PSICOM can harm you." He saw her about to reply, so he spoke further, "I promise I'll tell you everything, little lady. But right now I want you to trust me when I say I want to see you smile."

She looked down, her face hidden from his view, and spoke, "After everything that's happened… You should know…" she chuckled, "I've never cared who or what you were, Naruto… I am glad to have found you."

Naruto was taken aback, his chest warming up and his eyes taking in her smile when she looked up at him, "Serah…"

Lebreau bit her lip, '_Damn it, why can't I find a guy like that all for myself?_'

Then, Naruto's eyes snapped wide open and he turned around. NORA and Serah did too and saw as the red clad blond swung his Blood Fang. They could see the air cut by the force of the swing and the sharp edge of the blade, the powerful gales leaving a blue blur from his wind chakra, and soon several bullets fell to the sand of the beach, cut in half. Naruto growled as more PSICOM troops carrying even more heat arrived.

And with them, walking casually on the sand despite having high heels, was Jihl, "I don't know whether to admire your persistence or belittle it with how predictable it makes you."

Naruto flashed the spectacled cold beauty a grin, "I should say something along those lines. It's the first time I have a lady trying so hard to get a date with me."

Jihl narrowed her eyes at him, the vigilantes, and the pinkette, "I can see why you'd try such lines with me, seeing my… competition." She said with a smug smile aimed at Serah, who gave her a glare while wrapping her arms around Naruto's left arm.

Lebreau also narrowed her gaze at the spectacled woman but turned to the blond, questioningly, "Long story?" she asked.

Naruto chuckled, "I had coffee with her, she's mad I dumped her."

Jihl's grip on her baton threatened to bend it, but even then she tried her best to keep her cool, "Enough of your high-school student pick-up lines, Naruto. Surrender now and no-one will get hurt."

Cracking his neck with his left hand and gripping tighter Blood Fang with the other, Naruto replied with a large grin, "The problem with your plans and options is…" he closed his eyes, putting on a sheepish grin on his not so innocent face, "…that I'm just some idiot who wants to do his job and look good doing it."

Both sides raised their guns, and fists in Snow's case. Naruto groaned as he put himself between Serah and PSICOM, and the fight started. NORA's marksmen, meaning everyone but their leader with his super strength giving trench coat, stepped back to take cover behind their air-bikes and shoot at the soldiers who returned the fire at them. Naruto's right arm disappeared in blurs, creating a shield of sharp gales of wind cutting any projectile nearing him or Serah. Snow for his part charged through the fire of the more inexperienced soldiers, and managed to get some good punches on them without discipline, just street fighting.

Jihl dashed forward, her heels kicking up clouds of sand behind her feet. Naruto's sword met her baton and kept her back with her eyes locked with his on a glare, while his blue orbs had a cheerful glint. "You are truly angering me," she said and slammed her right high heel on his stomach, but to her shock he didn't move. He did bend forward from the strike, but didn't step back or fall.

Naruto gasped, "And I'm glad you…" he grabbed her ankle with his free left hand, "…have such cute, little feet." He grinned.

Kaguya groaned, face-palmed, and felt like crying, "**If that's seriously the best line he can come up with, I give up on believing he possesses intellect.**"

Naruto for his part spun around on his toes, yanked Jihl with his monstrous strength, and swung her around like a rag doll. The PSICOM officer yelped in shock when one lap around Naruto was completed, for he let her go. Airborne, the blonde woman showed she didn't train for nothing by twirling her body in the air, putting a hand on the ground, and cartwheeling backwards to stand back on her feet and take once again her fencing stance. In doing so she pushed back one stray bang from her eyes and pulled it behind her left ear with a calm stare.

To everyone's shock, Naruto laughed in good humor with his left index finger aimed at the woman, whistling, "I'll be honest, had I met you before, I may have followed and joined you, Jihl." he summoned a large amount of wind chakra to his sword, as much as he could after losing nearly all his powers to keep Kaguya sealed. Why? Because he got his prankster grin on, "Sadly for you, I'm not into being whipped."

The way Naruto grinned told Jihl that things wouldn't be as simple as they seemed when she charged, and she was right. She instinctively backpedaled when the blond slammed Blood Fang's blade on the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Gale Burst!"

Infused with a large amount of chakra, the blade not only cut through the thick sandy ground like it was butter, but it needed to release all that energy. As the name of the technique implied, the sand burst up, before an explosion of wind shot right at Jihl. Her eyes widened behind her glasses at the sight of a massive blue ethereal blade flying at her from the ground. The pure energy crescent moon shaped wave sailed through the ground like a shark's fin on the sea, and forced her to side-step the attack, letting it hit her soldiers. She heard their cries and watched as they flew up in the air, landing hard on the ground, unconscious, and with large gashes on their armors yet, surprisingly, not on their flesh and skin.

Understandably, the soldiers backpedaled in terror, "What's up with this guy?! Is he a monster?! He doesn't even have a l'Cie mark, so how is he doing this?!" those were some of the questions they asked themselves along NORA, Serah and Jihl.

The blonde woman pushed up her thin glasses and glared at the bouncer, "That… wasn't magic…" she stepped forward, her baton aimed at the red clad man, "What was it? You used some kind of pure energy, something from within you. But it is unlike any magic we've seen l'Cie use, so who, or what are you, Naruto?"

Naruto twirled his Blood Fang three times and hefted it on his shoulder, "Who knows? I'm a bag full of tricks myself." He said with a carefree grin. He then crossed his arms and gave her a calm stare, "What I do know is that you're trying to stop me from getting rid of Serah's brand, and sooner or later I'll have to stop holding back."

Jihl was about to attack when she noticed something very important, "The girl!" her eyes and her soldiers' were wide in shock at the revelation one the clouds of sand from Naruto's last attack settled, "She's gone!"

Naruto allowed himself a cocky smirk when three air-bikes flew over him and Jihl, avoiding her soldiers' bullets and reach soon, "Told you so, I am a bag full of tricks." He said calmly with his arms extended to his sides, "Jihl, if you're really a soldier, then you should know something I learned as a kid: those who break the rules are trash, but those who betray their friends are worse than trash." He stabbed down Blood Fang on the ground, and put his right foot on top, his eyes staring at hers, "I told you so already, if it's for her sake, I don't mind taking on the world alone."

Jihl gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and, to the blond suited man's shock, smiled, "Then you're really alone…"

Naruto gasped… and found his breath leaving him, his vision getting foggy, and his legs trembling, "What-" and then he fell, face-first.

She stepped closer to him with a smirk, "That coffee I gave you had a special drug with no taste or smell… I am surprised you didn't drink it again when my soldiers poured in the milk, that's where I had put the second set to make sure your body didn't collapse." She then pulled her computer board and typed a few things, "But to think you'd still walk after so much fighting, without a l'Cie brand, and without anything to slow down the drug does confirm you are not fully human." She grinned at him and squatted closer, sadly keeping her legs together so he didn't get a nice look at her black laced panties. Her hands forced his head up to look at her face, "Whatever you are, we'll have fun studying you after that girl and this place are put into custody."

And, with a swift strike from her baton, Naruto kissed the ground into unconsciousness. Jihl smirked and looked at the air-bikes, and their destination, "They're still headed for Anima. What should we do?" one of the soldiers asked.

She was in such a good mood she actually smiled truthfully, "Take them all down, chase them if needed, and when it's all over, make sure to have everything ready for moving the Fal'Cie." She then looked at the unconscious blond, "As for Naruto, restrain him as much as needed and put him in one of the cells on my ship. Make sure he can't move or fight back, and that he has no access to any weapon." She chuckled, showing she was really having a good day after putting up with Naruto's lines, caressing her baton, "I'll have my ways to show him respect before we deal with whatever magic he has to study it."

XXXXXX

"Hmm… he proved difficult even for her, but in the end your puppet caught him and has him under her custody."

"Yes, but should we let him there, he will do his best to fight back. I don't want to bet anything on that chance."

"Fair enough."

"Not for him."

XXXXXX

Jihl was in such a good mood as she made her way to the cell Naruto was in that, after everything that happened, she had to smile. One soldier followed her, speaking loud and clear, "And so we lost sight of Villiers. The girl has been taken by Anima itself and perhaps may now be a monster along the others roaming in that place."

Jihl nodded almost absentmindedly, "It's been several hours since the capture of Naruto, I hope you have everything ready to move that Fal'Cie as we've been instructed."

The soldier saluted, "Of course."

She grinned, "Good, now I shall look for the prisoner. I do believe he recovered consciousness a while ago."

The soldier nodded, "He has, but…"

"But…?" Jihl echoed, not liking how that sounded.

The soldier gulped, "He's also recovering from the drugs…"

Jihl raised a brow, "Of course he should. He was supposed to be given the second mixture of drugs to slow down the effects of the first drug."

The soldier shook his head, "That's it… we… haven't given him the second mix."

Jihl's eyes widened, "But… how?! That drug was potent venom that can paralyze a man's every muscle in a few seconds. Not only that, without the proper medicines even his heart would've turned rock solid, so how is he still alive if you haven't given him that set of drugs?!"

The soldier uselessly shrugged, "I don't know. I was about to give them to him but he started moving… In fact, we've had to reinforce his shackles after he nearly broke free when the drug started to wear off."

Jihl bit her lip, "Is his stubbornness really this bad or is he truly a monster?" she hurried to the door and, after three thick layers of bomb-proof steel had moved aside, she was greeted by Naruto… half-naked.

The blond was on his knees, wearing only the black and red striped boxers Serah gave him, and nothing else. His muscular body was there for Jihl to see, and his head was hung low, from either tiredness or defeat she didn't know since she couldn't see his face. His arms were held by two thick steel cuffs chained to the walls at his sides, the room was for only one prisoner only after all. She did have to force her eyes away from his flat stomach showing a six-pack set of abs growing and his hard as rock pectorals. Also, without his coat she could see how strongly toned his arms were to the point they looked stronger than steel.

But even in this state, Naruto looked up and grinned at her, "So, this is how you treat everyone in a first date?" he didn't regret getting slapped hard across the face, he still kept his grin to annoy Jihl even more, "Kinky." He didn't regret the backhanded slap, in fact he was sort of hoping for it to add more fuel to his next and certainly not last lines to tick off the woman, "I've got better lines, I'm just using the bad ones first."

This time Jihl put her baton to his throat to shut him up, "I will ask you several questions, and your answers will be given either willingly or by the use of PSICOM's latest technological advancements to study genetics." She grinned here, "Of course, that process is so painful it is considered to be banned."

And Naruto bit her hand. Without a second thought, he dug his teeth into the woman's gloved hand and resisted the urge to smile at the sound of her yelp. He did get kicked by her right high heeled shoe, but in his mind it was still worth it. Jihl discovered she really despised seeing Naruto smiling and decided to end that when her baton was ready for a strong strike to his head, but stopped.

"You are too valuable, Naruto. Your body is beyond price, and I am sure Cocoon would benefit greatly from studying it for mankind's next step in evolution…" here she roughly grabbed his head by his jaw with one hand, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't force me to hit you."

Naruto grinned back, "Lady, I've gotten the stupid beaten out of me so much to know that it won't be as pretty as you claim it to be." He chuckled, "As a kid, I'd be up for being seen as so awesome my spit could help many become unstoppable heroes of war. Now, I just want to enjoy some lemonade and the company of one little lady. That's all I need to have a happy day."

Jihl grinned and put the tip of her baton below his chin, "Not like it'll be that happy after all you've done."

Naruto grinned again, "How many times have I got to say this?" he said like he was talking of the most obvious thing in the world: "If I can get to make Serah smile, I don't care what you, this world, or any deity may throw at me. I'll take you all on and beat you."

"What makes you say that so confidently, you fool?" Jihl asked, disliking how his spirits hadn't broken, "You don't even know what happened to that girl you love so much. She's currently in-"

"She's with that giant statue guy, right? Villiers seems to have still gone with his only plan and gotten her there and in trouble…" Naruto said casually with a stern stare aimed at her, "So, if that's all you have to try to push me down, I'll refresh your memory: I don't care what's thrown at me, I will fight to see Serah smile again."

Jihl snapped, "Are you kidding me?! How can you fight for a single girl with such stupid determination against the likes of true gods?! No matter how you look at it, you can't win!"

Naruto snapped back, "Then stop trying to get me to give up!" his shout made Jihl step back, for she always pictured Naruto as stupidly calm and laidback, so to see him get angry was a shock, "Go on talking all you want about how I can't do something, it'll just make me try harder. Serah… she's important to me, so if anyone, no matter who they are, try to harm her then I will make sure they pay." He then gave a stern glare right to her eyes, "If you want to talk so much about how I will lose, then why are you trying too hard to keep me down? What's so important for you to fight for?"

She glared at him, "My job is to protect Cocoon and ensure that it grows as a world of prosperity." She stated dryly and coldly.

Naruto growled, "If it's a world of prosperity… then why does it need the blood of others?"

Jihl smiled, "It's the way this world is: unless you can do something with your life, you will be washed away by the waves and forgotten."

Kaguya hummed with her eyes narrowed at Jihl, "**Such conviction… She'd have made an even better puppet than Madara.**"

Naruto lowered his head, "I've listened to your words…" he chuckled, "…but all I've heard were reasons of why you seriously need a boyfriend."

This time it was her knee which slammed into the side of his face, "I'll take my leave. The Primarch will decide your fate sooner than later, and it will be carried out by me if necessary. Consider yourself lucky if you turn out to be valuable research material."

The soldier that accompanied her entered the room, Jihl left with the door closing behind her, and Naruto was alone with the armed man several feet away from him. The blond grinned, "So, think I got a chance to date her?" he asked, making the masked man turned confusedly at him, to which he chuckled, "Be honest with me, man, she's into whipping others."

The soldier kept his grip on his gun and his aim on the blond, "Yeah… Tell me about it."

Naruto cackled a bit, "You wouldn't happen to have tried to date her, huh?"

The soldier groaned, "What's with you?"

Naruto grinned innocently, "Just curious as to what are my chances, you know, to keep teasing her and see another glimpse of her panties if she kicks me."

The guard tilted his head, "You what?"

The blond smirked, "You thought I let her kick me without knowing she would have done that with a skirt?"

The soldier was interested, "So… what was she wearing?"

"Come on, man, guess. I bet you and your friends must have bets about it." The blond said calmly.

The marksman chuckled, "Well… guilty as charged… My money's on kitty panties…"

The blond chuckled, "Seriously?! Oh, man, then you better kiss that money goodbye! Hahaha…"

The soldier groaned, "Hey, she could wear them… I mean, she couldn't be fully evil, she could have her soft side and… what am I doing telling you this?" he sighed and turned around away from the blond.

He kept on talking, "No bets for a black thong?"

The guard sighed, "Ugh… then I owe my partner a lot of money…"

Naruto chuckled, "No, that was actually my first guess in what she could wear… You know, being risky at the job…"

The soldier turned around, "Then… what does she wear?"

With a widening smirk, Naruto spoke with the truth, "Black risqué panties… which show she IS a natural blond."

The soldier laughed, "Wow! Hahaha! I was actually thinking on betting for that, and no-one did! Ugh… had I followed my hunch I'd be swimming in dough!"

"What made you think that?" Naruto asked genuinely curious.

The man shrugged, "Well, there are only men around her, not a single woman… I thought it'd be like, you know…"

"Yeah, I read enough books like that." Courtesy of a perverted sage. Naruto then raised a brow, "Let me guess, she keeps a lot of boys around to serve her, yet hasn't taken anyone because of her job…"

The soldier chuckled, "Actually, she has this guy, but he's more of her pet… or rather her bitch."

Naruto made an over the top worried face to make the guard laugh, "Oh man, don't tell me I got competition in getting love taps from her."

The guard chuckled again, "No way, she just has him as her servant. Hell, if I must be honest, I think she prefers the kind that break and cry shamefully for her amusement."

Naruto laughed, "Had I any money on me, I'd be betting she keeps the fuzzy cuffs with herself at all times. Trust me, pal, I knew a woman as sadistic as her… She was hot as love, but damn was she scary. Then there was a time I had to fight this crazy one who tried to put a collar on me for her amusement… I ended up with three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and some heavy bruises but perhaps the widest grin I ever had."

Kaguya raised a brow, "**This better be good or else I will find a way to skin you alive.**"

The soldier approached the blond, grinning, "Oh, do tell the details."

Naruto smirked and, in one split second, had his left leg shoot up and knock out the guard's gun before his right leg kicked him right in the face to unconsciousness. Once the guard was out, the blond broke through his handcuffs after having neatly cut through them with his wind chakra, and grabbed the unconscious man's combat knife hidden in his clothes.

He still replied, "If you want a similar story, I'd tell you to reach a certain perverted sage's book." Then he sighed, "I still can't believe the old fart's boring writing actually works here, too."

The goddess groaned, "**To think he's this resourceful even in the face of such bad luck… I'm torn between admiring him or hating him more...**"

He chuckled, '_If you're thinking about how ridiculous it is that all my cliché lines taken from those books work, trust me, I do too._'

The goddess gasped, "**How did you get in my… Never mind. Get out of here before she returns… and put some clothes on!**"

Naruto chuckled as he put in wind chakra to the knife and stabbed his cell's door like it was hot butter, '_Not like it makes any different than when I take a bath. I do wonder what you think then._' He smirked when listening to the goddess spluttering something that could've been a coherent reply had she given it more thought and had she not been giving some thoughts about his body at the times he bathed that she'd never admit even if it cost whatever little she had.

XXXXXX

Jihl was at a loss before her boss, standing there on the control room of her ship before a large screen with an image of an old man in white and purple robes with a silly matching top hat, "But sir…" she started, not liking to have to argue with someone she believed in.

The man scoffed, "Lieutenant Colonel Nabaat, you should know he poses a threat to Cocoon with such powers. Branded or not, to think a man like him carries such power gives us only a matter of time before fights start for that power. And, as we've seen, he is bound to retaliate."

"But the girl, since we have her under our control, we could-"

"My word is final." The man said, cutting her off, "Eliminate Naruto Uzumaki and burn his body to ashes. Even if he could help mankind evolve, all I can see with that power is destruction."

She lowered her head and sighed, "Understood, sir."

"Do not fail me." The Primarch said and the conversation ended, but not because of the screen turning off, but because of a soldier rushing in and alarms blaring in the background, "What's going on?!"

The out of breath newcomer managed to gasp a few words: "Naruto Uzumaki… he's out!" and then he fell flat on his face, showing that his armored suit carried a lot of cracks and a foot shaped dent on the side.

Jihl, once again, snapped, "Damn that man!" she shouted as she threw down her spare glasses and stepped on them. She then took a deep breath, pulled out another set, and growled, "Hunt him down and bring him to me, immediately."

The robed man didn't like the sound of that, "Lieutenant Colonel, you-"

"We'll take him down, sir, but there is something I need to know first to confirm a kill. Nabaat out." And with a press of a button, his image was gone and Jihl sighed to herself, "Naruto, you are mine."

**XXXXXX**

**And that's my rap!**

**Sorry for no writing as much as before but I've been busy with real life. I hope that after this month things start to calm down for me. As much as I want to update other fics, this one is the most popular I have so I will try to update it as best I can with whatever little free time I get. Hey, I do need to live a little, last week I went to an awesome Halloween party to vent out and it worked to get me back to writing this fic after a serious writer's block. I hope I can keep up the energy.**

**Now, I've said it already, I will debate on whether or not to add in Jihl and Fang to the harem since several of you want it to be that way. Yet some of you want it to remain with the official three, but to those I'll just say to give me some patience and see how things unfold before making any accusations. If you have something to base your argument such as me making Jihl OOC wanting to let Naruto take charge of her life out of the blue then feel free to kick my left buttock, the right one is where I'm planning to tattoo a lipstick mark for any flamers to kiss if their arguments carry only insults.**

**Also, the soldier being fooled... Not going to lie, Final Fantasy did have some good and smart villains, at least with the faceless soldiers. Hell, in FF7 the Turks get their job of destroying a city pretty damn well. In FF13 they at least worry for the sake of civilians but have to deal with Snow, who is protected by his protagonist status. But you can't deny that if one man listens about a sexy woman's intimate details he will lower his guard.  
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**As for the Dissidia girls, well, as I've said just think of it as the spin-off that Dissidia truly is. I mean, countless fans have made their crossover pairings with it, but in the end it's everyone back to their original world. Well, I'll just have fun with what I can do.**

-OMAKE-

Just a fool

After a farewell consisting of waving over his shoulder while leaving and a shout of, "I'll go help Lightning and whatever other guys are here. If there're enemies, I'll clear a path for the others. You just keep sitting there giving me another mess to clean up and thinking how to repay me for this. It better be a fully paid five star rated dinner."

Cosmos blinked as Naruto just left without wanting to hear any further explanations. He just walked out without a care in the world, said he expected a fancy meal for his services, and went off to do his job. Shantotto huffed, "He's too rude. Had I been you, I'd clobbered the smugness out of him."

Cosmos smiled, "He is the best at what he does, so I think we can let him go on his own." She then put a finger to her chin, "Still… what should we get for his dinner."

The small creature gasped, "You're actually thinking of cooking for him?!"

The goddess nodded with another smile, "I've heard it's a good hobby, and considering what he can do and what he did as a kid, we should repay him. Trust me, it's best if he isn't mad. After all, he managed to fight gods of increasing powers in a war without stopping just once. He even sealed a powerful demon in his very body since he was born, and at his seventeen years of age he defeated a goddess whose powers could eclipse Chaos's in his true form."

Shantotto grinned, but the goddess noticed it was a nervous smile, "Even then I could whip him into shape."

Back with Naruto, the blond wandered around aimlessly in search for a fight, an ally, Lightning, or even a bowl of ramen. What he did find were several trees, boredom, and green grass. He would've sighed but the scenery reminded him of home… which caused him to sigh tiredly, "Everyone must have moved on with their lives after Sasuke was killed and I forced Kaguya to free them. It'd be sweet to see some statue of myself for doing something heroic, but I am actually having fun with Serah and her sister…" he pulled out a cigarette and bit its filter, "Life sure is full of surprises. Right now I am fighting for my own wish, not a promise."

"What would that wish be?" Naruto turned at the sound of that voice and found an armored man, clad with a horned helmet, and built like a brick house.

'_An actual knight in shining armor? This feels like a fairy tale… Well, might as well learn how one is to amuse Serah._' The blond approached the man but leaned slightly backwards to put on his hardboiled act, "My wish would be to be able to fight endlessly so long as that keeps a sweet smile on a little lady."

The knight stared at him blankly, "Are you another of Cosmos's warriors, or are you on Chaos's side?"

Naruto chuckled and pulled out his cigarette, "I'm with neither." He stated calmly, confusing the man, "All I'm doing is try to find my friend and keep her safe for when we return home… On my way, I may as well clobber some of this Chaos's guys and the big guy if that's what it takes for us to return. Is that good enough for you?" The blond gripped his sword tighter in case the man proved to be an enemy.

He relaxed when the man changed his stance into a calmer one, "Yes, more than good enough, so long as you take this seriously."

Naruto chuckled, "I've tried to take things seriously, trust me, I tried real hard… But I find that being young of heart works wonders."

The dark knight stared at the carefree blond, "You live a life free of worries yet seem determined to fight for this friend… Enough to defeat me?"

Naruto sighed and spat out his cigarette, "So you're on this Chaos guy's side?"

The man nodded, "Allow me to introduce myself, then. I am Golbez."

"Name's Naruto… Why would you give someone like me your name?" the blond asked with Blood Fang ready.

The armored giant of a man floated a few feet above the ground, "The moment Cosmos summoned her warriors I've felt doubts and worries all over their faces. Yet you have no mask, that smile of yours is a truthful one. Thus, I wondered, how could a man like you exist without doubts or worries?"

Naruto chuckled, cracked his neck with his left hand, and gave Golbez a grin, "Why're you asking me? I'm just a guy with a fabulous trench coat, wonderful sideburns, and a cheap haircut."

Golbez paused for a beat, "I see, those are answers you aren't willing to give so easily. Is it because of your past?"

"The past is in the past, big guy…" he crossed his arms and looked up at the towering figure, "If you wonder about my past, what got you tied to yours?"

Golbez stared at Naruto some more, and raised his hands, "Why're you asking me when a fight may give all the answers to the victor?"

The blond chuckled, grinned, and got Blood Fang ready, "Good answer."

The dark knight replied by covering his right hand in pure darkness, and Naruto did by pulling back his sword, "Gale Burst!"

The two attacks collided with an explosion of pure wind and darkness, forcing both the magic knight and the stubborn bouncer into stepping/float back. As the dark knight flew back, he disappeared in an instant. Naruto grunted as he turned around and his Blood Fang was met with an armored hand covered in electricity. Golbez widened his eyes when noticing that the blond wasn't getting fried, and even more when the youth disappeared in a flesh of golden light. The taller of the fighters did turn around and block a powerful axe kick with one arm, forcing Naruto to dash away.

"Not holding back, are you?" Golbez asked cautiously.

The blond grinned, "Funny, because that should be my line."

The two returned to trade blows, and as they did so, they were unaware of one figure watching them.

XXXXXX

"His power, even in this world and after all the changes he went through, he still holds such might…" Kaguya, miles away, cursed to herself at what her lavender eyes were looking at, "Naruto will prove problematic… I will have to use others to take him down…" she then stared at a group coming her way, which had her smirk, "It's been so long since I've used my eyes' full power… I need to prepare myself if I'm going to chain Naruto to me for all eternity…"

XXXXXX

Back on the fight, Naruto shivered, "Ugh… those goose-bumps again…" he cursed said goose-bumps when several fireballs nearly fried off his eyebrows.

XXXXXX

"Light, where are you going?" someone asked Naruto's brooding pinkette. It had been another brunette, but this one had short neck-length hair, heterochromatic eyes with one being green and the other blue, and she was clad in a very conservative kimono that hid a modest yet still moderately attractive figure with all the curves put in the right places.

The pinkette growled as she kept advancing, "I don't know… I just feel that someone, somewhere, just needs to die, and that it's some creepy mad woman."

The voluptuous brunette turned to the smaller and younger brunette, both raised an eyebrow at such statement before deciding to follow the soldier woman to see if she had gone mad or she had some sixth sense.

When it came to protecting what they loved or their loved ones considered precious, women should be feared.

**XXXXXX**

**Swordslinger out!**


	5. Chapter 5

I OWN NOTHING

In case you were wondering, yes, this story may turn out to be real short with the bits one can skip large levels of a game such as just saying the heroes walked through it. But to flesh things out is a challenge I enjoy.

**XXXXXX**

-Mini OMAKE-

Catch them all!

Little ten year old Serah Farron set foot outside of her home, waving goodbye to her parents in their new village, as her pink haired mother waved goodbye at her and her father kissed her on the forehead before he went to work. The girl was clad in a red skirt, had black biker shorts, a white elbow-length sleeved jacket, red sneakers, and had a yellow bag at her side.

She grinned at the sky, not a cloud in sight and many lovely bird creatures flying over Bodhum, "Today's the day I can finally start my journey!" she pumped her tiny fists up and raced to the lab that was near her home. Once there, she was a bit surprised but rather pleased to see her sister who was two years older than her, with her ever present white vest, khaki shorts, black boots, black cap, and red scarf standing near a blond boy a bit older than her. The boy was fourteen and was clad in an orange hoodie, blood red pants, had on a black headband, and carried a yellow sling-pack.

A tall man with an afro and a lad coat approached the trio, "Oh, so you've finally decided to join in, Claire. Thought you'd want to keep your studies…" as he said that, a little bird popped out of his afro, and returned to it for a nap. "And why're you here, Naruto?"

The blond boy grinned, "I heard someone's starting their journey now." He said and they turned to Serah, who waved.

"Good day, sis, Naruto, Professor Katzroy." They replied with a wave, a nod, and a grin respectively.

"Well, now that you're all here, let's begin…" he then turned to the blond, "How about you show them yours, boy?"

Naruto nodded with his ever present, pulled a red and white ball out of his pockets, and opened it. From it a beam of light came, and soon a large amphibian humanoid creature with its long tongue acting as a scarf around its neck appeared, crouching in a way similar to a ninja. The two pink haired sisters showed surprise, though Serah was ecstatic while Claire looked more composed.

"Ah, little one's as healthy as ever." The professor said before moving to a table with two spheres similar to the one Naruto released the frog from, and handed them to the sisters.

Serah smiled, knowing her journey was about to begin.

**XXXXXX**

Couldn't resist that, sorry! Hope you enjoyed this little Pokémon AU of this fic. After seeing Greninja, yes, I say the awesome ninja Pokémon should be Naruto's partner for any new crossover fics of that category. As for Serah and Lightning... Hmm... I picture Serah choosing a Chikorita and Lightning getting a Fennekin. Yes, I know Chikorita is from the second generation, but it's the starter Pokémon I just relate the most to Serah, sue me for having thoughts different to yours.

With that out of the way and me feeling like a new man, let's get going!

**XXXXXX**

Why we fight

"Your Eminence?" one lone guard asked the Primarch, shivering in his boots after Lieutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat cut off communications with her immediate boss.

Said robed man was not pleased, and it was shown through his scowl that Jihl would have some answers to give. However, the attractive if cruel, calculative and manipulative woman couldn't care less. She raced through hallways to find the blond that had pained her finely shaped… neck in ways no soul could have ever managed. The more soldiers she passed by, the more she witnessed of Naruto's might until she finally arrived to a large lobby. The place was a large circular room, bare of color and decorations, it simply served to connect other hallways for easier access, and thus it was always heavily guarded by a squad of well-trained and perfectly equipped guards.

She stared at the road she had taken, and from a relatively sober beginning for the outbreak finding soldiers taken down with no injuries but left to groan in pain, presumably by stealthy non-lethal takedowns, everything then took a turn around logic itself and went directly to Bizarre Ave. At Bizarre Ave. skinny men can hold swords twice their size and three times their weight, mystic monks can channel their inner energy to lift a gigantic train with their bare hands and suplex it with style, and her armed troops couldn't hit a single man in his underwear standing a few yards from them.

Bullets flew through the air to hit Naruto and all the blond did was to simply weave around the projectiles. Jihl felt her jaw go limp when noticing the blond had yet to move his feet from the single square meter he stood on. Despite being in his boxers the bouncer had no visible injury. He held his newly acquired knife in an inverted grip like he had been trained when using kunais, and every time a bullet came his way all the blond needed to do was to lean to one side or another at incredible speeds. His stance was that of a boxer weaving and bobbing to avoid a punch, but to avoid bullets with trained soldiers about a dozen feet away from him was too ridiculous for her to take in.

The moment her soldiers were taking time to reload, Naruto spun around on his toes and dashed over to the hall with the words "Storage Room" labeled on top. He would've gotten there, had he not been forced to greet Jihl's baton swing with his new knife. She locked eyes with him, her icy orbs set in a colder than usual glare, and his had a warm and amused glint that was meant to tick her off. In one swift motion, Jihl let go of her baton and attempted to jab at Naruto's gut. The blond replied by backpedaling and letting go of his knife. With both weapons midair, Jihl forced a palm strike at Naruto while her other hand reached for her baton. Naruto grinned and caught her striking palm with one hand on her wrist, his other reaching for his knife.

Steel met steel once again when Naruto parried Jihl's stab to his throat with the edge of his knife intercepting the tip of her weapon, "We really need to stop meeting like this." Naruto quipped, "People may get the wrong idea and start to talk about our relationship."

Jihl growled, "I thought you were done using your bad lines." She tried to find a way to make her soldiers use the deadlock she and the bouncer were in to shoot him, but unluckily for her she was in the line of fire.

He chuckled, "No, I still got plenty of those before moving to the good ones."

Jihl gritted her teeth and tried to strike him once again, but Naruto was known for one thing, being able to sense his enemies' moves. Without giving Jihl much time to reconsider her attack, Naruto released the arm he had been holding on and raised both his arms over his head in a cross shape. Jihl noticed too late that her arm and not her baton had hit something, this something being Naruto's guard. With two swift movements to grab her wrist and her elbow, Naruto spun Jihl around, forcing her to let go of her weapon with his grip on her wrist, and pinned her arm to her back by gripping her wrist tighter.

The soldiers were about to shoot at him… but he had put his new knife close to her neck, "Damn you…" she growled, hating him a lot.

Naruto stared at the soldiers, "Now… if any of you think I'm not lowly enough to use a hostage to get my way…" here he tightened his grip on Jihl… and smiled at the soldiers, "You're right." And then, putting his bare foot on her rather toned… back, he kicked Jihl forward at her soldiers, making her yelp when she collided against them like a bowling ball taking down pins. She groaned, grunted, and growled in that order when she smashed into the armored men, got up, and noticed that the whiskered buffoon she hated more than anything in the world had run off.

Jihl pulled off her glasses… and crushed them in her bare hands, "Find him… and bring him to me, alive." She said coldly.

One soldier gulped, "But the Primarch wants him-" and he shut up when Jihl turned at him with murder in her eyes, and her hands gripping tighter her broken spectacles, yet still not drawing blood thanks to her gloves, otherwise the soldier might have pissed himself.

"Bring him to me, alive, so that he learns his place." She repeated, venomously.

And with that, she left, with one soldier whistling, "Geesh, if she could show a softer, lovely and cuddly side then I wouldn't mind taking my chances for a date."

Another soldier chuckled, "I hear you, bro." he raised his hand for the other soldier to high-five him, and as their hands touched he noticed something, "Where's your gun?"

The soldier groaned, "I just arrived here, pal, after that Uzumaki guy kicked me in the kidneys. I think I'm going to be pissing blood for the next year or two."

"Seriously? Shit, I didn't think any soldier would wake up by now." The other soldier said with some sympathy after seeing some of his comrades getting hit by the bouncer,

The first soldier nodded, "I thought so too, it seems the guy hit me a bit less hard than the others. Either he is really desperate for something, or he found out the boss's baton could be used as a horse crop for her BDSM dungeon… She really looks the type to have that if you ask me."

The other soldier chuckled again, "Ha, most likely. Anyway, you better get another weapon and rejoin the hunt. That Uzumaki mustn't be too far away, and he should be found soon with the soldiers we have."

The unarmed soldier nodded, "I'll get to it then…" he turned around and walked to the armory, a grin hidden from others' view, "Sucker…" Naruto said through his disguise, "My clone should vanish soon. But if Jihl is really that intent on finding me, I do need my stuff if I'm supposed to get Serah out of that Fal'Cie."

"You said something, soldier?" asked an apparently high ranked man, judging by the uniform.

The disguised Naruto chuckled, "Sorry, sir. I was just wondering aloud about the Fal'Cie. You know, they all look too different from each other."

The higher ranked soldier nodded, "That may be so, but they are still beings that house endless amounts of magical energy. That's the only way we can tell if something is a Fal'Cie. And that's why it's hard to hunt l'Cie, since they don't have such massive pools of energy, only their brands. But you should know about this. After all, the world below ours, Pulse, may be a true Hell, but l'Cie can create something more to destroy enough lives that nothing but horrible memories are left, if there are survivors."

"I'm new, and it's actually my first day here." The blond lied, and rubbed the back of his head in faked confusion, "But what about the brands? Wouldn't it be easier to get the people naked and look for them?"

The soldier shook his head, "You know how the Primarch is about l'Cie. His orders are absolute about defeating this threat. Better to take out everything and everyone who could have come in contact with one than risk the death of many. The Purge is needed to keep most of Cocoon safe from whatever plot the l'Cie could be up to, and we're not taking risks."

Kaguya voiced her thoughts to the blond, "**This Primarch is obviously playing it safe here… These soldiers believe they are doing good even if all they do is kill civilians.**"

'_I can see that. Sad to say, it makes me question whether or not to fight these guys… They're not evil, they're simply trying to do something they believe is right, and they have reasons to do so. I've heard of some stories of the l'Cie from Serah when she studied history, and some of those aren't pretty._' He then voiced his honest thoughts, "That still makes us almost as cold as Nabaat, sir. Not as sexy, though." Naruto said, trying to bring some humor and get the man to loosen his tongue some more.

Said man smirked, "Yeah, but we're protecting Cocoon from the l'Cie. Apparently the l'Cie only appear when Fal'Cie need them to fulfill a Focus, and since one of such Focus a long time ago was to destroy Cocoon, then you can see why we're paid so well for doing this. You are also better keeping your thoughts to yourself. You should know already that talking back means bad news, especially for a recruit."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir. Thank you. But…" it seemed now he would have to take risks to get answers. "What about Anima? Isn't it supposed to be some really powerful being? If so, why are we carrying it?"

The soldier shrugged, "As far as I know, it's only letting us carry it by its own choice. Since it has that girl inside, it mustn't want to fight in order to keep that l'Cie safe…" he then huffed, "And can you believe that Uzumaki wanted to protect her? An enemy of Cocoon was more important to someone like him? No wonder he can't be considered human."

Naruto tried to control his temper, but with how bad his life had gone in the last hours calming down was no easy task, "That girl may be really important to him."

"Soldier, the l'Cie almost destroyed our world many years ago, and right now there is another one in our custody. If it comes down to it, we shouldn't doubt about shooting that girl between the eyes." He then scoffed, "It doesn't matter who or what she is, right now she's nothing but a monster, true scum that shouldn't even roam this world. If we see her, she's better off dead for all of us."

And, as anyone could imagine, Naruto's past bad temper returned. The blond had never been one to hold back when people said bullshit or tried to talk trash about others or dared to look down on people based on their own biased judgment. But… Serah's life was in danger. "I'll keep that in mind too, sir." The blond said, turned around, and left to find his things.

Kaguya opened her eyes in shock, "**To hold back his anger like this for that girl… He's really grown, and just for that girl's sake.**"

"Don't forget we'll be leaving soon, soldier!" the man shouted at the disguised blond, "Once we leave this area, it'll be time to move around civilians to the train, and you better find Uzumaki before that!"

And that… gave Naruto a great idea. It'd take Jihl several hours to seal the hole Naruto made to escape the first time from her ship, which had been the exit he used a second time with a new plan in mind.

XXXXXX

Lightning moved forward, not hesitating. After getting the news from her superiors and their orders to leave her hometown and just watch Serah get carried away, she knew that something had to be done. And yet, there she was, walking almost on auto-pilot. It almost felt funny, how everything had gone so bad and how now she just didn't even feel anything. Perhaps she did, and maybe she was being strong, or she was playing the strong role to keep her mind away of her worries.

The elder pinkette walked towards the train station, watching as people walked in with rifles aimed at them or just remaining in the citizens' eyes so no resistance could stir. What did stir was Lightning's anger, and she was as fast as her name implied, perhaps enough to take down every single fool with a gun in her sights, yet for now she needed a plan like a goof taught her. The plan was simple, having handed one of the soldiers her gun and telling the PSICOM officer she quit was a piece of cake. And as she stood there, finally stopping behind the line with a bizarre middle-aged man making her company, she couldn't help but worry.

"Why are you even doing this?" the middle-aged man asked.

She thought about it, and replied honestly, "I… can't give up." She said in her monotone, closing her eyes to think about it more carefully, "Even now, there are too many reasons for me to give up and quit, but…" she still could hear him, his words. To not give up, no matter how bad the situation looked. Those were usually the words of a fool, and yet… "I got nothing else but the chance to try. Someone taught me that."

The middle-aged man whistled, "Well, then better make this chance count, soldier girl. We're next."

The man's statement was made more obvious when a PSICOM soldier pushed Lightning forward with his gun on her back. The pinkette growled at him but entered the changing room to put on the white cloak that all victims of a Purge were given so people couldn't look at them, like they carried some plague. PSICOM and Guard Corps soldiers wore gas mask as if to avoid getting infected.

Lightning's turn came… and also a soldier that pushed her forward, following her into the changing chamber, "What're you doing?" another asked.

The soldier keeping his aim on Light replied, "Making sure this one isn't armed. You've seen her hand her weapon to us, and she is a Guard Corps officer. Doesn't it bother you she just got in?" The pinkette bit her lip, not expecting the soldiers to put this much attention on her. But it wasn't like she planned to fight back despite their suspicions on her actions… yet.

Another shove with the gun made her know the soldier was getting impatient, "Get in, little lady." Those last two words made Lightning's eyes widen as the soldier shoved her in, entered, took off his helmet… and revealed a blond mop of hair she knew, she wanted to say something but kept her words in her throat when the blond slipped Serah's birthday present in her pockets.

"Nice and easy, little lady. We don't want any of the soldiers outside to shoot meaninglessly at anything or anyone." The taller and older man replied, to which Lightning replied with a nod, knowing what he meant. If she acted suspiciously or they broke into a fight, then chances were big on the two of them and innocent civilians getting covered in bullet holes. "Don't make any sudden movements and empty your pockets." She sighed and did as told, but had the hand reaching for the switchblade stopped by his hand, silently telling her to keep it, "Heh, you seem to have gotten in good shape from your training at the Guard Corps…" he chuckled, and then turned around when looking at Lightning who bared her teeth angrily at him. "Take off your vest." He put on his helmet, not only in case some soldiers peeked to see more of Lightning's hidden treasures, but also if the pinkette got angry enough to hit him.

She did as told, growling, "You better enjoy this, because it won't last." She said, putting a lot of venom in her voice. But he shocked her again when pulling out the combat knife he had taken on his escape from Jihl's ship and slid it into her vest. She growled and could hear his breath getting uneven, showing he was struggling with the closeness as he hid the blade in her body.

"Oh, I am. I'd say I have plans for you, but you're better off locked waiting for my orders or else there may be a lot of blood if the big wigs decide it's best to bomb the train." He said with a perfectly acted monotone voice. It seemed that dealing with Lightning paid off to act like a robot, and also giving her the message that he had something planned for an escape, "Now turn around and bend over."

Lightning blushed furiously, "Are you kidding-" he put his finger to his lips in order to silence her and she bit a growl when he aimed his gun in a threatening manner at her. She closed her eyes and did as told, feeling something slid into her back… a very familiar weight: her gun-blade.

"Yeah, that should do it…" the masked man said.

The two heard footsteps and Naruto quickly put Lightning's clothes back on before handing her the robes. It was a PSICOM captain, "Are you done?" he asked, with an angry growl, "These people will have it bad enough, you don't have to ruin their lives further like this."

The masked soldier chuckled, "I had to make sure. After all, one can never be too careful when checking up others. Why, what did you think I was doing here?" he stepped aside, revealing the fully clothed Lightning.

The captain did a double-take, "What?! She… But…" he regained his composure after coughing into his fist, "Ahem… Never mind that, get out and let her get out on her own." The soldier nodded and turned to the soldier woman, giving her a thumb up which she, albeit hesitantly, replied to with one of her own as she put on her clothes with her new set of weapons hidden.

And as she put on her new robe, she couldn't help but sigh, "At times I don't know whether to be surprised or terrified of how good he can be." Once she walked out and watched the blond get into the train with the other soldiers, something made her feel at ease. Sure, Naruto's first plans involving Serah's rescue hadn't worked, but right now he definitely had something in mind to get everyone safe and out of danger.

Kaguya spoke to the blond, "**You have actually become smarter and even wiser. Why? Is that girl's smile so important to you?**"

He smirked, '_Exactly. Even if I have nothing else to fight for, I want to at least fight for something I cherish, and that's not only Serah's smile…_' he inwardly chuckled, '_I'd also like to see Claire smile at least once._'

Kaguya groaned, knowing she'd do that a lot with her living cage, "**You fight for such simplistic reasons I could almost pity you, almost.**"

Naruto grinned sarcastically, '_Good to see you haven't lost your bitch side. It'll definitely keep me focused on the matters at hand._'

She gritted her teeth, "**You're speaking to a goddess, boy!**"

He chuckled, '_One that I defeated_.'

She sneered, "**I'm a being who controls limitless power.**"

He sighed in a laidback way, '_But who has been sealed by yours truly._'

She scoffed, "**I will make you beg for death once I start to pay you back for this!**"

He replied smoothly, '_And apparently you got no more ammo to use on me_.'

She grumbled, "**I hate you…**"

He chuckled again, '_Come on, I know you mean love._'

She snapped, "**Oh, and I will make you love me when I am done breaking you. I will make sure you enjoy being turned into my toy!**"

He mentally shrugged his shoulders, '_Heh, still kinky._'

She snapped harder, "**I HATE YOU!**"

After a light laugh at the goddess's anger, Naruto walked into the train, sat along the other soldiers, and waited for his time to act. After a few hours of monotonous traveling, with some of the soldiers still making bets on what underwear Jihl Nabaat could wear despite one of them already knowing the answer, Naruto decided to stand up.

"What're you doing?" one of the soldiers asked, eyeing the still masked blond.

"I need to stretch my legs, pal. I've never been one to stay still without something entertaining to do." Naruto said, perfectly acting his part, and still waiting for his time to act.

"Endure it, buddy. It'll be a few more minutes before we reach a checkpoint, and still some more time before we deliver the prisoners to their destination." The soldier replied to the disguised bouncer.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, so… do you want to play cards?"

Five minutes later, a grinning Naruto was glad that he still had his senses from his sage training and his ridiculously good luck. So far most if not all the soldiers sat at a table playing poker, and Naruto was rolling in dough. In front of the blond a pile of crumbled bills, coins, and some watches and gold accessories signified his inevitable victory over the men who didn't have his kind of ability to read others. He grinned, and kept waiting, watching more and more soldiers approached the game and made their bets.

"What're you, some sort of devil?" a soldier asked, throwing down his cards in surrender.

"I could tell you of some demons I met, friend. Trust me; they'd wipe the floor with you before you knew it." He smiled at the memory of the demonic Mist swordsman that helped him grow along a certain ice wielder. "Never trust a pretty face or else you'll find some painful revelations."

"Oh, ex-girlfriend?" a soldier asked.

Naruto grumbled, "I wish I had kissed a girl that cute… more than once, at least."

Another soldier chuckled, patting the bouncer's shoulder, "You know that's how it is with girls, man. One moment you love them, and the next you don't know how to deal with them. My advice: make sure you're really attracted to their personality or else you'll get a demon instead of a loving wife. After my divorce, oh man, I was one happy guy once I got the custody for my daughter."

"That bad?" Naruto snorted, "Heh, then finding a good girl means it is worth fighting for her."

Another soldier nodded, "Yeah, after I proposed to my childhood friend, she jumped at me from joy. I believe she was even crying. For her I'd keep Cocoon safe, even if I must carry some dangerous people around."

One soldier chuckled, "You married your childhood friend? Dude, cliché much? But I guess that's fine. All the more kittens for me." This one made a pawing motion and the others shook their heads in amusement, "Hey, I may not be your typical born and talented lady killer, but there's stuff I can do that no other man can."

"Like?" the engaged soldier asked.

"The best pancakes to ever be tasted in a romantic breakfast." The Casanova wannabe replied with a large grin.

The divorced soldier chuckled, "And you called lover boy a cliché?" he then turned to said soldier, "Speaking of that, it's time for your rounds."

Naruto knew this was his time, "I'll accompany him. After all, I still feel iffy about that Guard Corps lady."

The other soldiers nodded and picked up whatever money they had left. Once with the PSICOM prisoners in their robes, passing through the sliding door, Naruto saw his chance. The masked blond and the unaware soldier walked forward through the rows of depressed and fearful people. And, with a heavy sigh, Naruto grabbed his rifle stolen from the armory at Jihl's ship, and hit the future husband on the back of the head. With some pity in his heart, Naruto reached quickly into his pocket and slid the money he had won into the man's uniform for a pleasant surprise.

The prisoners gasped, and his favorite cold pinkette spoke, "Took you long enough."

"It'll take some more time… I don't want to kill these guys. PSICOM soldiers are jerks, yes, but they're just doing their job, following orders." He sighed, "Had I worked with them, I might even buy them drinks."

"That's nice and all, but we're still tied up." The afro man said, "Could you set us free now? Please? I'll pay you a drink if you want."

"I'm just trying to find whatever turns off the locks, give me some time, ok? I suck at figuring out how to program my TV." Naruto replied, having no idea how the remote the soldier carried worked.

Suddenly, as he should have expected from the sound of the engaged soldier falling to the ground into unconsciousness, the other soldiers started to walk in. One of them stared at the unconscious soldier and then at Naruto while the other started to aim his rifle at the prisoners. The blond contemplated his options… He didn't want to kill these soldiers, they hadn't done anything close to what the likes of Madara did, and while they may have worked to purge people they were just following orders given to them to just follow without question.

"What just happened?"

Twenty seconds later, and the two soldiers were out cold along the first knocked out one. Naruto then raced with the remote to Lightning who asked, "Was this the best plan you had?" she closed her eyes, and admitted something, "It's actually way better than what I had in mind." Yeah, maybe she would have beaten the guards to shit with her special energy field and destroyed everything in her way to get to Serah, but Naruto had things under some control rather than fight everyone in the way to his goals.

"Anything's better than getting in this ride." The middle-aged man replied, "So, what's your plan, new guy?"

Naruto took off his helmet and turned around, "My plan is the same as hers, but from here we'll be improvising." He walked to meet the other soldiers.

"Are you serious?" the afro man asked with a chuckle and a smile, but Naruto kept walking, "Wait, you're serious?!" he asked in shock.

Lightning sighed, "Get used to this. It usually works for something in a strange way." She then locked her eyes with the bouncer's, "But right now… I must ask you a lot of things. I've heard from my boss of what happened when you met Serah and got captured. And what you can do, Naruto. I couldn't believe it so I got here to set you two free… and here you are."

Said blond remained silent for a moment, and then spoke truthfully, "I will tell you and Serah everything once we get her back. I promise. But right now, I just want to make sure you and Serah are safe, all right?" The man replied, carrying real concern towards the pinkette in his voice and his eyes when looking at hers, "I also want to avoid our chances of getting hit by a bullet from a PSICOM soldier with all these people here, or having to hurt the soldiers."

"I make no promises on that. But…" she looked at him in the eye for a second, taking in the care and concern in his eyes, and spoke, "I'm not trying to count on you… I fully believe you can at least do something." Lightning replied, knowing full well that when he made a promise Naruto would keep it. He smiled and entered the soldiers' cart. Once the door was locked there was an echoing sound of gunfire in the other cart, followed by loud yells, curses and grunts of pain, and accompanied by the heavy smacks of fist to flesh through body armor.

The middle-aged man gulped hard, "So… friend of yours?" he asked the pinkette, "I mean, I may be desperate enough to follow you in order to get out, but how much do you trust him? Is he your boyfriend or-"

"He is still single, and so am I." the soldier woman said with a glare that advised against trying to dig more information. At that moment the door to the soldiers' cart finally opened, revealing Naruto… in his suit: the red trench coat, red dress pants, reddish orange button up shirt, yellow tie, small circular amber shades, black fingerless gloves, and even his polished brown dress shoes were there.

The afro man blinked, "You went in there just to change into some fancy gangster suit?" he asked in disbelief.

"And to get this." Naruto raised his right arm, showing that he had Blood Fang in his hand.

Once Lightning was set free, by having Naruto carefully cut her handcuffs in half without any effort, she grabbed the remote control to the other prisoners' shackles and set them free. "We better expect the worst." She said, pulling out her gun-blade and getting it ready in its rifle form, "And by that I mean the entire fleet all around us. We need to get bigger weapons."

The afro-haired man, who Naruto recognized as the father of the little kid that lost his baby Chocobo, grabbed a pair of large handguns and walked with them, "I've had these for some time, might as well use them."

"Must you be so negative?" Naruto asked with a laidback if concerned smile. Currently he was trying to figure out what was going on and what could happen, he didn't want anyone else hurt.

Lightning loaded her gun, "I've learned that it's best to keep your expectations low." She then grabbed the combat knife the blond hid in her vest and handed it to the dark skinned man who hid it in his green jacket, "That's how you usually get pleasant surprises." She said and forced herself to not make eye contact with the bouncer when she let out her next words, "Thank you… For all this effort."

Naruto chuckled, "What's there to thank?" he asked and gripped Blood Fang tightly, "I'm just doing what I want here, and that is to get something precious to me back."

Lightning turned around, letting out a breath, and her own if barely noticeable ghost of a smile for just a second, "We better get moving. PSICOM has cameras everywhere so they must know of this-" and her words died when the entire train shook violently, sending everyone forward.

Naruto managed to stomp a foot where he was falling and made sure to hold on to the pinkette while the middle-aged man held unto him from behind. The man groaned, "Let me guess, that's the welcoming party." He then found the way he was holding Naruto's back and jumped back, "So, what should we expect now, soldier girl, new guy?" he said, trying to shake off the embarrassment.

Naruto straightened himself and the pinkette, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki and she's Lightning Farron. As for that thing… you know better than me about PSICOM machinery, Light, what do we do?"

Lightning forced herself away from Naruto's warm, strong, and rather comfortable arms, "We fight it." She replied, holding her gun up once again, now morphing it into its sword form.

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto said with a smile, hefting Blood Fang on his shoulder.

"You serious?! Something out there has slowed down this train! Something out there can stop a train!" the man shouted, but watching the other two move forward made him clench his teeth harder, grip his guns, and walk behind them, "Wait… I can't let you two get into danger without some back-up…" he caught up to them, "Also, name's Sazh Katzroy, blondie."

They moved forward and the civilians started to leave the train. Knowing the people of Bodhum would be in danger, Naruto quickly started to climb up the train to find what had stopped him with Lightning and Sazh following closely. What Naruto saw was a mechanical white giant with long arms, an animalistic kind of reptilian body, and four chainsaws with sparks on electricity acting as fingers, or rather claws, for it to maim its pray, which just happened to be the trio before it.

"Whoa, can we take it easy?!" Sazh asked upon standing up and seeing what was before them. But when the chainsaws started to spin, he groaned and pulled out his guns, "Ok, that's just lovely."

Naruto chuckled, "Look at the bright side, this fight will get some blood flowing."

"Must you always have a bad line for this kind of situation?" Sazh asked.

Lightning sighed, "You'll get used to it."

They got into their fighting stances, Lightning holding up her sword over her head in a defensive stand, Sazh taking a bizarre kata with his guns aimed at the large monster, and Naruto crouched slightly forward with Blood Fang already cutting wind. The mechanized titan pulled up a large segmented tail in a predatory manner and swung its arms at the trio. The pinkette flipped backwards, the gunman stepped away, and Naruto side-stepped the blow casually, with his trench coat flowing in the wind from the force of the missing swing which caused him to smirk cockily.

"Show off." The other two said at the fancy bouncer.

And so, the battle started.

XXXXXX

Thousands of feet over the ground, Jihl bit her lip while her eyes stared at the large screen before her showing the battle. Her ship was flying over the train that had been stopped to capture the prisoners, who were running off while three people, one of them who she didn't know, were halting one of the mechanized master pieces of her troops meant to destroy things and take powerful strikes.

And yet, the unknown fighter, a young woman, was casually flowing around the metallic monster's strikes with ease while using a gun-blade with mastery someone her age hadn't showed since… since Jihl herself. The spectacled woman was currently trying to not chew her lip when seeing how Naruto was there and not in her ship, and not only that but he was aided by someone she knew and she had wished to control, but circumstances changed that. Well, at least she had her trump card over one of them.

But her happy thoughts died when the blond man charged at the robot along the pinkette with Sazh giving them some help with his bullets distracting the mech. The blond weaved around another swing of the mechanized hunter's right arm and swung Blood Fang at it, leaving a large cut in the metallic limb. The pink haired woman, whose shoulder guard showed she was a soldier, jumped over the man and sunk her sword in the hole Naruto made. Lightning jumped back and so did Naruto as the robot's arm smashed on the train and caused it to shake.

But they still stood, and the robot had taken significant damage.

She didn't wait long to start ordering everyone around, "I want them taken down as brutally as needed. These targets, especially Naruto Uzumaki, are not to be taken lightly. Now, bring me the information on the soldier with Uzumaki and Katzroy." She was clenching her baton so hard it was about to bend.

The robot's damaged arm started to shoot out bolts of electricity from the cut Naruto and Lightning made, and just as it was about to attack them again, Sazh took his opportunity to fire at the opening in its armor. Rather heavy bullets hit their mark, causing more sparks to shoot out of the damaged limb. The metal predator's arm fell, and stopped moving, causing Sazh to cheer a bit with his arms up, until the robot seemed to take offense to such joy and slammed its still unharmed arm on the train, causing it to shake violently once again.

At that time she saw, but couldn't hear, Naruto say something. He had spoken to his two companions, "We can't let that thing throw down this train, not with the soldiers in it." He charged once again.

She also couldn't hear Sazh speak up, "True, they may be a pain to deal with, but they're still human." He took a rather bizarre pose and kept on firing.

Lightning sighed and didn't seem to move her mouth when she spoke loud enough for the other two to hear her, "Fine, then let's take it down and kick it off." She followed Serah's fellow guardian closely.

Their massive metallic attacker reared its tail and from the tip they could see a bright light forming. Sazh yelped the moment he saw a beam of condensed energy come at him. The man jumped backwards but not at a speed that'd have allowed him to get away. The moment he saw the beam inches from his boots he felt an immense heat, and then nothing. When Sazh believed his feet would turn into ashes with the rest of his body following closely, he heard a crack and looked up at the tail. Up in the air the steel monster swung its tail, which had a certain red cleaver on it.

Soon a red blur dashed up, and brought a polished brown shoe right into the handle of the blade, sending it flying right in the air after piercing effortlessly out of the iron hunter's tail. The war robot stumbled back with its tail sparking with electricity, letting out smoke, and with the tip blowing up, rendering that beam cannon completely useless. Naruto landed in a crouched position with his right hand extended. It took only two seconds, but his Blood Fang fell down right into his opened, waiting palm.

"How're you even pulling that off, blondie?" Sazh asked while he tried real hard to not have his jaw hit the ground from the awe he felt.

The large war machine used its still active arm to strike the train, making it shake violently and nearly taking the men off into the dark abyss below them. Naruto grunted, "I learned it the hard way, just how I learned the hard way that I don't want to climb back up in case I somehow survive this fall."

Sazh chuckled bitterly, "Yeah, a few thousand feet drop has always been one of my fantasies." He said with sarcasm dripping of every syllable.

The robot had been distracted by the duo that had damaged it the most, so it didn't pay much attention to a certain pinkette. While Naruto was busy with the tail and Sazh helped them to get rid of one arm, Lightning dashed forward, weaved under the left arm, and when seeing her opening she took her chance. The robot was about to slam its arm on the train once again to get it off the road and down below into an endless pit of darkness. Had it feelings, the machine would have been surprised when a pink haired young woman's sword found itself firmly penetrating its still unharmed arm's joint where an arm-pit would be.

When the robot's remaining fully functional arm fell limply on the ground, a soldier finally approached Jihl, "I found her. Her name is Claire Farron, but it seems she changed her name to Lightning when she was fifteen. She's twenty one years old, is a Guard Crops officer with extraordinary grades and many recommendations for her skills, and was about to get into advanced training before this Purge happened."

Jihl nearly snapped. In her head she felt like something, like a rubber band, had snapped. But despite how it all sounded, she forced her calm and cool demeanor to win over anything, "Why wasn't this informed to me when we managed to gather information on the l'Cie Serah Farron, who happens to be this Lightning's sister if the name is any indication? Not only that, but why was she on the train instead of getting locked when she is a clear threat due to her relationship with the l'Cie?"

"We are under clear orders to give a free pass to officers who work for us, ma'am. But that's the issue, Farron quit her job to be purged. She was even registered for weapons but none were found." The soldier swallowed a lump in his throat at his next words, but continued speaking, "We believed she wanted to die, a suicide for losing her sister. It seems she had something to fight for."

Jihl pulled off her glasses and bit on one of the edges of her glasses, "How is it that you're not thinking around those rules to make sure the undesirables don't cause harm to others, then?" she asked, and her soldiers stepped away from her carefully, never seeing her this kind of angry. She was really mad, but aside from biting on her glasses, she didn't seem ready to explode. Something was up with her.

"Shall we send in reinforcements?" another soldier asked when the screen showed the trio protecting the escapees pushing back the large robot with more ferocious attacks.

She put her glasses back on and glared coldly at the image of the bouncer, "Your job is to take them down and keep Cocoon safe and prosper. We shall go with our original plan: defeat and capture. Naruto's blood is still valuable for the jump in evolution it could provide us."

One soldier then asked, "What of the other two?"

She stared at the masked men, "Use as much force as necessary but try to keep them alive. They could be used to negotiate with Naruto and keep him from leaving his new cell."

The soldiers saluted her and returned to do their job. Back with the battle at hand, the ruined robot decided to stop fooling around and slammed its head on the train. The three unusual heroes held back a mental yelp when the mechanized monster's "face" split open to show a hidden cannon ready to fire a massive amount of energy.

"We really pissed him off!" Sazh yelled, backing away with his guns held defensively. And to prove that it was as angry as a machine could be, the large metal hunter readied its engines, with blue fire shooting from its back. "What now?!" the gunner asked while taking another step back, only for the train to shake again, and he realized what was going on, "It can't be… Doesn't it care for the soldiers in this thing?!"

Lightning gritted her teeth when feeling the train shake again, being pushed back, "Taking us down must be its priority. It's not going to let us run away or evade that blast!"

Naruto stomped forward, "Then we strike back twice as hard!" he charged forward at the same time the robot flew at him, the massive concentration of energy it had ready to burst.

Naruto crouched forward and swung Blood Fang to his side, and at that time Lightning could see how he wasn't fully human. Blood Fang erupted with pure azure chakra. The blade vibrated with pure power as the blond bouncer's life force was forced to take form. Gales of wind spun around the edge of the energy, morphing into a solid mass. In just one second, Naruto's cleaver had morphed into the handle of an even bigger sword. A blue ethereal blade covered Blood Fang with the shape of a crescent moon, growing to be as big as the bouncer himself. It was an energy blade so sharp that just by having Naruto moving it sliced the air.

The robot fired, pure white energy ready to turn Naruto into ashes, and the former shinobi swung his sword with a loud cry. "Show's over!"

What Sazh and Lightning saw next would forever be engraved into their minds. The slash not only hit the large energy beam… it split it in half! The wind around the blade simply cut pure energy like it was natural. And then they heard a snap… and watched as the robot's top half slid off its bottom half, with both halves falling to the opposite sides of the bridge.

Sazh's brain was the first to reset, "You could've done that the entire time?!"

Naruto panted, "Yeah… but that… takes some energy… I haven't used in a while…" he fell to his right knee, and would have fallen to both knees, had Lightning not helped him up. He chuckled, "Do you want the explanation? It's still a long way before getting to Serah."

"Can you walk?" Lightning asked in her monotone, trying to not show too much concern, though her surprise still showed itself in her monotone.

"Yeah, I'm just out of breath... I haven't used that much energy in a long time…" he stood up when he finally got some more air to his lungs and looked up, thinking back on what he had done, "So far I've had to fight PSICOM, get off their ship twice, jump down from the clouds to find and help Serah escape capture, got drugged and had to shake off the effects of said drugs, and now here I am." It did feel like years had passed for him, but things had finally gotten serious enough for him to use as much power as he could muster.

"We better move." Lightning said, and looked up to see several ships flying over their heads towards the escaping civilians.

Naruto groaned, "But those guys will-"

Lightning grabbed his shoulders, "Serah is in danger."

"And you want me to let all of Bodhum die?" he asked sternly.

And with those words something from a long time ago woke up in Lightning. The words her sister said to Claire Farron… "_Even if he were a bad person, should we really let him suffer?_" Those were the words Serah said when convincing the elder pinkette to pick up the blond, to help him, to be kind to him, to give him the reason he had to fight for her no matter what… That's what Serah wanted.

She closed her eyes, "It'll be faster this way." Lightning moved forward, not looking at Naruto to avoid seeing his grin. "Serah's really rubbed off on you."

He chuckled, "I could say the same about you."

"Um, am I missing something?" Sazh asked, "Who's Serah? Is she your daughter?"

You readers can probably imagine what happened next, but for the sake of making it easier to picture… Lightning's cheeks turned a shade of pink similar to her hair while Naruto's face grew as red as his clothes. From the shock it took a while until their brains got reset, they turned around, and replied almost as one.

"No!" she said, her face one of anger.

"No way, she… Serah…" it was hard to think of a coherent thought here.

Lightning spoke up, "Serah's my little sister."

"And I'm a friend of theirs." Naruto replied, "Besides, she's in some permanent foul mood. If I had to I'd marry someone who can handle joy."

Lightning elbowed him, getting a yelp from the still winded blond. Meanwhile, Sazh arched a brow, '_Am I trusting my life and my son's to these two? Well, at least they get the job done._'

The group finally got off the train and made their way to the civilians before the PSICOM troops started to take them down.

At that moment, someone else made itself present, "Kweh…" Naruto and Lightning blinked… and watched as a small baby Chocobo popped out of Sazh's afro.

Naruto was at a loss for once in this new world, and he would have made the logical question of "Why's there a bird in your hair?" because even by the standards of his life experiences that was just plain weird.

But the chick flew to Naruto, who held out his hands to catch the yellow bird that flapped its little wings hard enough to fly, "I think it likes you." Sazh replied, watching the little bird get comfy in the bouncer's hands.

Naruto finally made his question, "Why do you have a bird in your afro? Shouldn't it stink?"

The middle-aged man blinked at the sudden blunt question, "Oh, little one's very clean, and I don't know. It just seems to like my hair. I grew used to having the little thing use it as a nest."

"I've… admittedly heard weirder." The bouncer replied truthfully. He met a man who remained alive by putting one part of his flesh inside a tube into a puppet, and had to take down one who for its survival he'd rip off hearts and organs to replace his own when they weren't needed. So a little bird living in a man's hair to stay alive didn't sound too farfetched and was definitely far less disturbing than the other cases.

"So, what's the plan?" Sazh asked, "We can't just go in guns blazing against those soldiers with so many civilians out there. It'd be a sure way to get innocent people killed by stray bullets or PSICOM just seeing them."

"We also need to find Serah." Lightning said, still concerned for her sister.

He mentally groaned as an idea came to his mind, '_How do we get to Serah and the civilians quicker? Using a clone would cut a lot of my chakra and I need to save it for when I meet with Serah… I could teleport myself there, but I'd leave Lightning and Sazh behind… If only I could teleport myself and others this'd be a piece of cake… But with most of my chakra sealing Kaguya, that would be impossible._'

Suddenly, several lights illuminated the trio, and a familiar voice was heard from a speaker: "_Freeze! Naruto Uzumaki, you will fall down and taken into my ship even if it's kicking and screaming!_"

They looked up to see a flying platform with several PSICOM soldiers armed to the teeth and one angry Jihl Nabaat holding her baton with a stern glare aimed at the blond pain in her well-formed… brain. She was absolutely livid, and was accompanied by some strange man with a lower ranked uniform who had to be the assistant he heard about from the guard in his cell at the spectacled woman's ship. He was a man with silvery hair pulled back into a small ponytail, with bangs framing a cold face, and he had a katana on his side with a hand-guard.

As the PSICOM soldiers jumped down and aimed their guns at the three heroes while they got into their fighting stances, Naruto stared up at Jihl with a grin, "I…" he aimed a finger at the cold blonde woman, before snapping it, "I can totally see your risqué panties." He said with a grin. And the soldiers turned to look up, which allowed Naruto to kick one in the face and got Lightning to see his plan. Sazh for his part was shaken up out of his thoughts of what Naruto said when hearing the loud thud of the first soldier hitting the ground, a blush on the elder man's face as he shook off the thoughts of the underwear.

Jihl felt her rage course through her blood, "Take them in alive with as much force as necessary!" she roared, her face red from the anger and the embarrassment. She was wondering how Naruto found out about her hidden goods, for she wore a skirt that shouldn't allow a view of her favorite set of panties.

Her right hand spoke up, "The Primarch has clearly ordered us to burn Uzumaki to ashes."

Jihl turned at him with a cold stare that shut him up, "His blood could help Cocoon's next step in evolution, Rosch. I'd suggest that you think of the possibilities for Cocoon and its people over the Primarch's orders. After all, we sacrifice a few for the sake of this world as a whole."

The albino nodded, albeit reluctantly, and pulled out his sword. By the time the two had finally arrived to the ground, Naruto and Lightning were done with their soldiers without the need of their weapons, something Sazh had to whistle to in amazement. Lightning had just put one gunner to sleep by elbowing his face while Naruto's right hook proved to be as good as always.

The PSICOM officers got into their fighting stances, and from behind them the spectacled blonde woman's ship flew to assist them, making Sazh panic, "Whoa, can we talk about this?" he asked, knowing Jihl.

Said woman smirked, "Sorry, Mister Katzroy, but you are about to outlive your usefulness." She aimed her baton at the trio, "But you can be at ease knowing I will assure your son's usefulness grants your kid honor."

Naruto and Lightning frowned at those words, "You're willing to use someone's son for a cheap shot?" the bouncer asked, ready to strike depending on the answer.

Jihl's smile fell a bit, getting sterner, but something seemed wrong, "There is something I am fighting for, Naruto, and for that goal I will take down every single enemy of this world."

"But not me. Why?" he asked, ready to fight.

Jihl's right hand man replied, "Your blood will be useful, and I am interested in how."

Lightning shot the man a glare, which unnerved him in the way it made her as intimidating, if not even more intimidating than Jihl herself, "And I'm not interested in your stories. Now get out of our way before we force you. The only reason I'm not going all out is because someone wouldn't like it to be that way… But trust me; you're giving me reasons to stop holding back."

Jihl chuckled, "A simple officer of the Guard Corps, making such a statement?" she swung her baton down in a more aggressive stance, her stare getting sterner, "You're still years away from posing a threat to me."

Lightning was about to charge, but found Naruto's arm hooked around her stomach, holding her under his arm put. She was about to question this, as Jihl was at the sudden action, but something happened. The blond had also grabbed Sazh, carrying the man over his shoulder, and raced to the edge of the train track… And jumped down!

"What's he done?!" the albino asked and raced to the edge, and the minute he did he was blasted back.

The sound of jet engines barely muffled a loud cry from an angry Lightning, "You're out of your mind!"

What Jihl was staring at right now was one of her ships, which had been flying around hers in case the trio of escapees tried to run away, with said three unusual heroes grabbing on to the cockpit. Naruto and Lightning did by stabbing their blades on the ship while Sazh held on for dear life to the blond. The sword wielders gritted their teeth, pulled back a fist, and punched the cockpit's window, breaking it. The poor pilot barely had time to splutter something when Naruto grabbed him and – after grabbing a parachute for the guy – threw the PSICOM goon out.

Jihl pulled off her glasses as the ship escaped hers due to being far faster, some of the other ships followed the escaping flying trio, but they had a good distance put in between them and their chasers. Just as the pilot floated down and landed next to her, the white cloth of the parachute soon covered her and the poor man along her right hand man…

A snapping sound was heard, coming from Jihl snapping her glasses in half. "How… did he do that?" she asked in a rather calm and chilly tone.

The albino, who had managed to pull of the cloth along the pilot, asked a confused, "Huh?"

Jihl turned at him with a glare so icy even icebergs would feel the cold, "How does he manage to pull this off? How could he sense…" she let those last words fly… and connected the dots, "He… sensed Serah when he was in my ship. So we should assume he can sense several kinds of life forms and detect danger incoming with this sense… Interesting…" she turned around and walked back to her ship.

The pilot raised a brow, "She… took it well." He said, not really believing his words, though.

Jihl turned at the poor pilot, "I'm not… I am so furious right now that I think I skipped my anger and have settled on the cold methodical pondering… of how will I make Naruto break in every sense of the word."

The two men shivered at her cold words and way colder stare. She then pulled another pair of spare glasses, slightly happy that she carried extra ever since Naruto first escaped her.

Some miles away, the flying trio started to think on their next move, "What do we do now?" Sazh asked, he tried to fly the ship as best as he could while Naruto and Lightning held on to the sides of the cockpit.

"We need to keep the civilians safe and out of this, and then we can get Serah out of whatever problem she's in." Naruto replied. "We definitely can't fight Jihl while others are in danger, she'd bring a lot of soldiers."

Lightning sighed, she didn't like the idea of having to wait to save her little sister, but she knew Naruto's little lady wouldn't be happy if many people had to be sacrificed for her sake, "Let's make this quick, then. If she shows up again, even we will have problems if all of PSICOM starts to roam around this place."

Sazh turned at them, gulping, "Well… it'll be quick… the ship's going at full speed, and the brakes are broken as well as this…" he raised up his arms… showing the ship's control wheel, with cut off cables hanging from its broken end.

"How…?" Lightning started incredulous at their bad luck but stopped when feeling Naruto grab her by her shoulder.

"I may have punched too hard." The blond said with a sweat-drop as he noticed that his fist had gone all the way through to the controls. He also picked up Sazh and looked down. "Hold on."

"Like we have a choice!" Sazh cried, did as told, and soon yelled when, once again, he decided to follow the crazy couple into whatever madness was awaiting for them. They landed fairly unharmed, though the ground beneath Naruto's feet did get an imprint of the man's shoes.

The pinkette got off Naruto's arm, with a bit more force than needed, and looked at the distance between them and Anima while Naruto and Sazh fell over their faces due to the lost balance once Lightning forced herself away from them with a push. "It's still a long road…" and at that time she saw many PSICOM soldiers race at the civilians, "And a lot of fighting we'll have to do." she turned to the two men and huffed, "You two better stop slacking off."

Sazh was the first to reply, "Sorry, but did you see that?! We jumped off a flying ship and are only alive because of your boyfriend!"

Serah's sister growled, her face threatening to break into a pink to match her hair, "I've said I'm still single. Now don't fall behind."

Sazh watched her go and turned to Naruto, who was already getting up and offering the man to help up the man, "How're you able to deal with her?"

Naruto chuckled, "I've mastered the art of patience through trial and error. It's not pretty but it pays off." He ended with a shrug.

Sazh groaned when looking at the soldiers racing at the civilians, "We're going to need some really big guns along that patience if we want to get out of here."

"Actually, we're not getting out." Naruto replied and followed the pinkette, "If anything, we're heading into something worse." He hefted Blood Fang on his shoulder and gave the man a grin while following Lightning, "If I were you, I'd decide on what I'm fighting for and if it's really worth following us."

Sazh gave the blond a grin, albeit a shaky one, "Hell no. You two are my only ticket out of here… And I got some business to take care of with Jihl. Something tells me she is really fond of you, meaning she's really mad at you. My best bet right now is to hang with you and deal with whatever happens next when she appears… And… call me crazy, but I just know you may be able to do more than PSICOM for others."

Naruto wasn't stupid, he had heard of the man's son and had even seen the kid, so he knew what the man was going to have to deal with, "I'm not that good at being a hero, but I can at least give it my all to keep others smiling."

Sazh grinned genuinely at the blond, "I'm cool with that."

They followed Lightning, and got ready for another fight. However, they didn't know who they would meet, and what it'd bring for them in their journey.

**XXXXXX**

**And that's my rap!**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it's finally setting things for the adventure and… I realized a big problem with Final Fantasy 13: its lack of villains. Now, I know there are several enemies in the games but for Final Fantasy 13 the major villains are barely seen and they're such a small number it's not even funny. It's best if a story has a good pack of villains in every zone.**

But now: IMPORTANT NOTE!

So, here's an idea. I will bring villains from other games franchises into this story. I know a LOT of you are hearing the words "cop-out" ringing in your head while others want to suggest their favorite villains to get blended into this universe. Thus I'll just say that I will do what I see fit with this story and ask for patience. These will be my choices; I don't care about suggestions on this, because I will decides what will go in future chapters to flesh out the story some more. I already have several good ideas about who to use and where to introduce them to the cast to ruin their day.

If any of you wants to say something, listen to this… Sazh and Vanille spent like three entire maps… without any threat. The game said so itself, they just wandered around aimlessly without anything of substance happening. Expect a villain to live in the wild and be ready to make their lives Hell.

If it sounds like I'm mean-spirited or am running out of ideas, well, you are only partially right on the second. FF13's main storyline introduces the major villains until way later, and all we got was to see Barthandelus try to be some badass by killing Jihl with some dirty magic back-stab. That's why I have been using Jihl like this in these last chapters, to have her as a more competent and slightly comedic villain with her own goals for capturing Naruto, and I mean goals that don't include whips and oil, sadly.

Whatever you may think, this is something that I need to do because, otherwise, the story would be far too easy and short to write if I skipped the parts in which the characters just move through zones. I want to spice things up by having some colorful and crazy villains there to challenge the heroes and give them, and even Naruto, a hard time.

And, as said before, I have already chosen the villains, I have a damn good idea of what to do with them, and I promise to do my best for the sake of having a fun story… But, since I bet you all want to know who the villains are… Here are two rather big hints to them: "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?", and, "Nanomachines, son!"

If you guessed who they are, well, let me tell you I have everything planned for their actions, their back-stories in this world, and their purposes to ruin the day of the heroes. I swear to all of you that I have put a lot of thought into this, talked with several of my friends and fellow authors to get some advice and share possible ideas, and that what I have planned is meant for the good of this story getting fleshed out.

However, if despite me saying all of this you have some objections, well, you can either stop reading right now or go write your own fic. I won't change my mind, I firmly believe in what I am doing, and I will make sure to do my best so it works and that it's good for the fic. I like to write stories for fun, yes, but that doesn't mean I don't try to put some effort into them.

**But now's OMAKE time!**

-OMAKE-

A fool's tactics

In another time, another place, and another setting… Perhaps Naruto would've carried on with a different life. In each universe he could've stayed the last six years of his life he could've been and done anything. But right now, in a dimension that somehow housed people from thirteen different realms, he was more worried about facing the towering armored man that was Golbez since the guy was letting loose more of his power to make the blond guardian's life all that more difficult.

Said large man grinned beneath his helmet, "It seems you're not what you used to be, Naruto. I can see a warrior who has grown rusty, and you are no different." He threw another lightning bolt at the blond.

Naruto replied by chopping the electric attack in half with a scowl, "I'm more of a slow starter…" he grinned here, "Like a smooth song, I start slow and build things up to do things like this!" The bouncer charged the towering man who raised his arms, creating a large dark barrier that the whiskered red clad man's sword bounced off from. But the blade had distracted the dark knight of something far more threatening… Naruto's left arm had grown, and a lot. Golbez barely registered seeing the large as a tree limb made of pure raw golden energy flying at him until it smashed his shield to pieces and sent him flying off against a tree.

The tree snapped in half on top of the large man… who easily shoved aside the trunk singlehandedly and floated up as if nothing had happened, "That was… not magic." He stated, having felt something very different from any other kind of energy he had dealt with from the bouncer's ethereal arm.

Naruto chuckled as his over-sized left arm returned to normal, "Who knows?" he hefted Blood Fang on his shoulder, "But I can pull more of these tricks, as many as I need to take you down." He claimed while adjusting his tie and… wait, where was his trench coat? And then, darkness covered Golbez's vision thanks to the large red piece covering his face. The armored man then felt a foot firmly planted somewhere between his lungs and colon by the bouncer, and this time was sent crashing through not one, or two, but three trees. After the kick had connected, the force shook off the large coat from the man's head, and into Naruto's awaiting and stretched arm to put it back on in a swift and smooth move.

Needless to say, Golbez was done playing games right then and there. In a single instant the man was right in front of Naruto and punched him. The blond grunted when his head was sent rocketing backwards with blood dripping from his nose and his shades flying off. Golbez readied another strike, but this time the blond was prepared. Despite leaning back at a dangerous degree that would have had his back collapsing hard on the ground whether or not Golbez hit him, Naruto forced every single cell in his body to lean forward, raise his hands, and catch the other fist in both hands with a grunt.

And then, he grinned, "Truth be told, this is more my kind of fight." He told the towering knight. "I'd prefer to settle this mano-a-mano, but we both know your boss won't be happy if you lose."

Golbez grunted as even with his large and muscular body and magical power he couldn't move his fist forward not even by a hair, "And yet, you who said that you don't answer to anyone, still stands tall."

Naruto chuckled, "You're kind of wrong." He said and did his best to push Golbez's fist down. Once he did, the two fighters stepped back and the large man raised his arm to throw a fireball from his hand, but his wrist received a powerful karate chop from Naruto, "For what I answer to…" he said and when seeing Golbez about to fry him with lightning with his other hand kicked the man's arm away with a roundhouse kick, "…is one little thing…" and, before Golbez could react, Naruto grabbed the man by the shoulders, jumped up, and brought his hard as a rock forehead on the man's helmet, "…and that's a little lady's smile!"

Golbez would've grinned for the stupid decision of using a head-butt on the helmet of his armor… But whatever grin could've tickled the corners of his mouth disappeared when hearing the steel of his dark armor crack, followed by a sharp pain of his skull shaking inside of his helmet from the powerful strike of the bouncer's forehead.

The two staggered back, for even Naruto couldn't shake much of the damage of head-butting someone's magical armor, "You're either the most determined… or the most knuckleheaded fighter I've ever met." The large knight stated with his hands holding his dizzy head.

Naruto grinned, "I'll take the compliment… and a five minute break…" he leaned against a tree, and could make out the blurry image of Golbez resting one hand on another tree for support with his other hand holding his shadowed face to shake off the dizziness. The two knew a break was impossible without the other having a broken bone, so while dizzy they stepped forward… and watched a powerful tornado form in between them! Naruto blinked when the powerful gales of wind, that were not his, flew at the large man and sent the dizzy Golbez flying back.

The surprise returned when a pair of lovely hands grabbed his, and he was forced to follow a voice, "Come on, let's go." It said with a feminine voice, dragging Naruto away from the fight.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked the person taking him away from Golbez once they stopped.

They had somehow run from a forest and found themselves in the middle of an industrial place of sorts, a large tower with a gigantic gears sticking out of the walls. He had guessed the girl brought him here with some teleportation, but he was unsure of that. And speaking of that, yes, his savior was a girl, and a rather cute one. She was a young woman with hair of a mint green color (I like her original design, sue me and I'll use the Dempsey Roll on you). She wore a red dress with a purple sash around her waist, red boots, red wristbands, purple shoulder-pads, and a cape. Her hair was pulled back to show an innocent, and very adorable face with pure eyes. Her outfit also hugged her body to show she had nice curves, with breasts that weren't too big nor too small, but perky and shapely, like her rear.

And the way she avoided eye contact with him set something odd in the bouncer, like déjà vu. She held her hands, clasping them below her chin, not as a prayer but in a nervous habit, "I'm sorry, I panicked back then but… I didn't want to see you hurt." She admitted, looking down, "You… are with Cosmos, right?"

Naruto sighed at that, "I'm not with anyone in this fight but myself and one friend, who is on Cosmos' side." He then approached the green haired lass, "And you?"

She forced herself to look up at him, but had her hands below her chin, with only her fingertips touching, "I'm fighting along Cosmos' warriors to stop Chaos."

Naruto nodded, "Sure could tell from the start…" he mumbled to himself so she didn't listen to him, and then he raised his voice, "I actually meant what's your name. Mine's Naruto Uzumaki."

"Oh." The girl gasped in surprise, a hand near her face before she set it down, "I'm Terra, Terra Branford. It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto." She bowed slightly.

He smiled at her words and actions, "Those are some good manners, young lady." He inwardly sighed at his bad habit of giving people nicknames, but for now he seemed to have someone to fight along, which caused him to miss her blush, "Now, listen, you're supposed to defeat Chaos' goons, right? Why didn't you let me beat Golbez? Sure, I may be a bit rusty with my old powers, but I could have taken him."

Terra sighed sadly, "There is one specific man I must fight, and the others also have to face their own enemy, otherwise we won't be able to defeat Chaos for good. That's what Cosmos said."

Naruto smiled wider and warmer, shocking Terra a bit, "Well, if what I saw back then in my fight was any indication, you should be fine. You're pretty amazing yourself, young lady."

Terra gasped again, a hand near her mouth, "You think so? But…" she held her arms, hugging herself, "My powers… I sometimes wish I never had them…" she whispered, thinking he wouldn't hear her, but he did.

The blond then patted her shoulder and smiled wider, "Listen, young lady, how about we team up for a bit?" he looked up, "You do look like you know your way around, and I could use someone as strong as you to be my friend in this kind of place."

"You… want me as your friend?" the green haired lass asked with both confusion and slight embarrassment in her voice.

He nodded, "No matter what people say, if you have that much power and use it to help others, then you're definitely someone I want to be friends with." He raised up his right fist, "If we can fight, we may as well choose to do something good, right? Like seeing a pretty smile…" he chuckled, "Seriously, there's nothing better than seeing a true smile from someone you help or to have the smile of a friend."

Terra blinked, this man was so odd yet… his smile was genuine, his kindness wasn't faked, and everything he said was confident but not overly so. He knew what he was talking about, and he just accepted her with a smile. He simply smiled and accepted her in one moment despite her shyness, and he saw her powers as something good to help others… In fact, he was right; she did want to use her powers to save him.

She looked down but a small smile tickled the corners of her mouth, "Ok." She replied not as quiet as a mouse like before.

He smiled and held his hand to her, "Then it's a deal. You got yourself a high class bouncer as your friend to keep you smiling while you keep us safe." She blushed a bit more at his warm and firm voice, but shook his hand as best she could. He was so cheerful it was kind of hard to keep up, and yet he just seemed to know what he was doing, for it helped to calm her down. He wasn't insecure or doubtful; everything he spoke was something he was sure about, not like a mask he'd carry to keep appearances.

"Deal." She said, rather shyly, but with an honest smile.

XXXXXX

Lightning, who had been walking forward without stopping, put a hand on her head, worrying her companions for she had finally stopped, "I felt… some disturbance…"

XXXXXX

Kaguya for her part wasn't doing better. The goddess was biting one of her sleeves, threatening to break it, while her hair held in place three individuals, "That brat… How dare he approach a girl so nonchalantly and with such charm?!"

A man with a scar on his face, brown hair, black clothes, and a permanent scowl growled, "What's up with her now?" he tried to break free of the woman's grip, but found that her hair was quite strong, which he should have expected the moment he saw it grow.

A boy with a monkey tail laughed nervously, "By the sounds of it, something that will have us taking her anger for someone else."

A brunet in an outfit best saved for a play on a stage grunted, "Let me guess, your next words will be about how you'd wish to date her if she weren't so mad." He asked the monkey boy, who grinned.

"You're getting better." The boy said.

The scarred young man groaned, "Why can't you take things seriously?"

Then Kaguya turned to them… her eyes burning hotly into their souls. They gulped in unison, knowing that a woman's wrath was to be feared.

**XXXXXX**

**Ok, you have the right to call me cheesy but… come on, this is Naruto. His entire life was nothing but misery and now that he has something good to fight for, I bet he'd do everything to keep some cheer in his and good people's lives. Besides, he is kind of like Terra: born with a power he didn't want, used for someone's selfish goals without knowing about it, and having lost a lot in life. Thus I totally see him trying to help Serah find her own smile by helping her be strong and grow on her own.**

**Swordslinger out!**


End file.
